In the Shadows
by Ravyn
Summary: Collection of AU and Cannon 'what if' drabbles to show the possibilities between Kenshin Himura and Kaoru Kamiya. Newest: The new ice capped landscape was terrifying, but somehow this husband of hers, this fire elemental, didn't seem so bad.
1. Afraid

Well, I was going to keep these on LJ…

But it has management issues. So I'm going to be putting them up here. Please be warned, they were written randomly and while I'll try to clump the ones together that are related…

These are drabbles. Some are long, some are short. None are shorter than 200 words. ( I think a few hit about 15 pages?) All of them are bits and pieces of worlds I don't have enough time to explore in complete stories. So I'm writing out the pieces of them as they come to me. Some come in more pieces than other.

Please enjoy.

Ravyn

Note: All Drabbles will be Kenshin/Kaoru pairing of some sort. Please expect werewolves, vampires, demons, college students, mobsters and anything else...

Most of these Are Not Beta Read.

* * *

He settled on the railing of her balcony, content in the knowledge that she couldn't see him. With the lights on her in her apartment she would be lucky to see anything that in the night. The streetlights were too dim, the cloud coverings were too thick…no light to penetrate behind him and give away his position. It was the only contentment that he could be assured. That he could watch her unaware all night if he chose.

She wore a pair of old jeans that had been bought several sizes ago. They clung tightly with an old familiarity to the curves of her thighs and the shape of her backside. She left them unbuttoned and they showed off the top of her rubber ducky panties. His teeth flashed in an amused smile. There were matching holes in her knees and her feet were bare. Chipped dark purple toenail polish contrasted against her pale skin as she rose up on her tip toes to reach the book she has been hunting for the last five minutes.

Her hips were still smoothly rounded. Her waist was a little lean showing her diet of ramen and her unceasing regiment of running and jumping rope. The running was done in the morning when it was still cold enough to see her breath and the jumping of rope occurred for as long as her downstairs neighbor would put up with it. So far she had hit a solid five minutes before the banging started and another three before she finally stopped.

She had cut her hair.

He had mourned the loss but saw the move as practical from her standpoint. Instead of hitting somewhere above those hips it now lingered only an inch or so below her shoulders. She had cried when she came home but there had been a determined expression in her eyes. The bottle of dye she had set in her desk drawer and refused to touch.

He wondered how long she would run. Either from herself or from her past, he wasn't sure what scared her more. She didn't see much sunlight anymore and her skin was pale. Cream with only a faint tint of gold to contrast her big blue eyes and black hair. She saved her one dollar bills religiously and grocery shopped only when she had to. Then she came home with crates of ramen and a gallon of ice cream. Dutch Chocolate if she was happy and Double Fudge Chunky Swirls if she was depressed. The ice cream never lasted as long as the ramen. Occasionally there was a box of donuts or a container of store bought sandwich meat. She never made a sandwich, instead eating the meat straight from the container with a few pieces of cheese.

He watched the way her muscles shifted under her skin, detracted only from the dark blue sports bra she wore. There were soft bruises ringed along her elbow and his eyes narrowed into golden slits as he considered what could cause that sort of damage. There had been a steady haunted expression in her eyes recently and his palms itched to take care of the problem himself.

He knew he would in time.

Just as he knew it was only a matter of time before she let him into her life fully. Already he was carefully weaving himself where it mattered. He unsettled her, worried her to the point of distraction, but she hadn't pushed him aside yet. There was something needy in her eyes…something terrified and desperate.

Terrified because of the reaction he brought to her blood. Desperate because if he left she was frightened that she would never discover what was between them. He knew she was attempting to find something to use against him, to find a way out. He was careful to keep from giving her those reasons. She need never know of his constant vigil. She knew his nature but she didn't _understand_ it. Not the way she would need to if she was to escape from him. He had been carefully weaving this web for months, each step careful, calculated.

Why would she wish to live without him? The question was one he knew she debated over daily, startled and frightened by how well he maneuvered her into things she was uncertain of. She wasn't against change but the idea of going into something unknown was a fear that had started long before he had met her.

A smile tilted the edges of his lips.

The lines of her body were so neat.

She had finally chosen the couch as her resting point and sprawled out on her back to read. It was late and she was tired. One leg had been thrown over the low back of the couch and the other rested on the arm. Her toes wiggled occasionally as she turned the page. How many nights had she fallen asleep on that ridiculous couch with all the lights on, to wake at some wee hour of the morning to stumble to bed?

He admired the way her body lay. She was relaxed and content and the nervous energy of before had smoothed away. Her feet were small and narrow. Her hands were slender but held the calluses of both work and her hobby of playing with a piece of wood. It was a defense against both her insecurities and her past so he said nothing. He preferred live steel but that was his prerogative.

The book was settled against her chest and she had closed her eyes. Those ridiculous pants couldn't be comfortable to sleep in. Unwinding his limbs he settled onto the floor easily. The press of a hand and the force of will unlocked and opened the glass door silently. He didn't bother to shut the door behind him.

Moving forward he murmured her name softly, and sleepy blue eyes opened a heartbeat before he reached down and lifted her from the couch. She breathed his name against his neck in unguarded, unconscious welcome. Her body was warm after he had sat in the cold and he carried her easily to her room. One hand pulled back the patched comforter and cotton sheets that were threadbare from too many washings. Once he had settled her onto the bed he brushed her bangs away from sleepy eyes and traced his fingers across the lines of her jaw and down her neck until he came to her collarbones. Her chest heaved in a sigh and her eyes fluttered closed as his fingers danced along the delicate bones, his second hand rising to join the fingers of his first.

He ghosted his hands down the sides of her breasts and let his palms smooth the curve of waist and hip and the lines of her ribs. Hooking his fingers into the material of her pants he gave a firm tug, easing them down the line of her legs easily. She made a noise of protest in the back of her throat, her eyes not quite opening, and he answered it was a faint rumble in the back of his own throat. He threw the jeans into a corner of the room and let his eyes linger on the clean lines of her body for long moments before pulling the covers up over her relaxed figure. Indulging himself a little, he leaned in and nibbled on the corner of her mouth until she sighed his named again in a sleep slurred voice.

Stroking his thumb across her cheekbone, he stayed until he was sure she was asleep. The corners of his mouth tilted upwards in a small, possessive smile that would have alarmed her has she been awake to see it. Humming a little under his breath, he turned the lights out, unplugged her alarm clock, and locked all the windows and doors behind him. Standing on her balcony he breathed in deeply, rolling his neck in a satisfied move.

The first time he had dropped in on her she had refused to even closer her eyes until he had pretended to leave. Jumping up onto the railing the flashed a satisfied smile into the darkness. It wouldn't be long now.

He never gave up what was given into his keeping.

Slipping back into the shadows, he went to find something worthy of being his prey to work off some of his excess excitement. _It wouldn't be long now._

_

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_

_**As always, please comment.**  
_


	2. Arrival

Written for the 100 Drables Muse Chart. Can be found on my LJ.

This drabble is unrelated to the last.

Ravyn

* * *

Kenshin considered groaning as he watched the new freshman and sophomores haul sofa's and couches and chairs up the stairs. He supposed he should go down and help, it was the Good Samaritan thing to do, but after two months of summer classes, he had been enjoying the few weeks he had off. In blissful silence that not even Sano had been able to penetrate too deeply. Now, his peace and quiet was going to be interrupted by loud drunks, squealing tires, morons who thought that three am was the best time to go out and giggling themselves sick.

The edges of his lips curved a little when he caught sight of his own roommate hauling a couch up the stairs. It looked heavy. The thick blue material looked worn, but appeared to be in good shape, and by the strain around Sano's eyes, it was _very_ heavy. He pondered going out to help; Sano was the worst at whining when he thought he could away with it. On the other hand, it would do his friend some good to tax the muscles he had been ignoring in favor of beer and pizza all summer. All thoughts of helping his straining friend slipped from his mind as he caught sight of the girls carrying lamps up the stairs, anxious expressions on their faces.

They were both small boned and short, shorter than even he was, with long hair pulled away from their faces so that it fell down their backs, keeping their eyes clear of distraction as they hauled heavy objects. The smallest of the pair had braided her hair, the weave bouncing almost playfully behind her back as a pair of tilted green cat eyes danced in a narrow, almost sharp face. There was something there that told him Sano might not have volunteered himself to carry the couch.

Her companion was the one who had caught his attention. Instead of a braid, she had pulled her hair into a tail, letting the long strands flutter behind her in the breeze. Her eyes were tilted slightly at the corners, but that only emphasized the jewel tone blue of her dark eyes. She was sporting a day old sunburn, her nose starting to peel a little at the end. She was fighting a smile, the edges of her mouth having deepened with contained mirth. There was something about the tilt of her head that told him she was going to be _trouble_.

Opening the door, Kenshin stepped out to help his roommate.

He liked a little trouble.


	3. New

021: New

Part of the 100 Situations challenge for LJ.

* * *

Kaoru had been an unsure at first if she was going to like this city. It had it perks of course, every _city_ did, anymore. After the Kin Wars had all but flattened the original, manmade monstrosities, they had all been rebuilt. And this time, with need to attract both human and kin. The wars had been difficult… things weren't perfect, but the uneasy truce between races was better; and it the tentative truce seemed to strengthen each year.

Once the dust had settled, the first movement that the races who made up the collective Kin had done was exercise their muscle when it came to rebuilding the cities. Things were slowly becoming environmentally safe, and pollution was down. It had to be, when thousands of individuals who specialized in the healing earth and air were working to keep the places they lived clean. And forcing the humans who might or might not want to help into helping.

This particular city had been built with the mind of the bigger shifters. Kaoru hadn't heard if any of the big cats had survived, but this city was run by a dominant pack. They policed the city, kept an eye on the comings and goings of the other, more violent creatures that lived there. A pack could take on almost anything. The more environmentally important kin tended to be quiet natured and could be preyed on by kin with more difficult natures – it was the packs job to keep that from happening.

The layout was built oddly. It was squeezed between one of the Northern Lakes and a stretch of forested land that was several dozen miles long, and then flared out like an hourglass leaving enough room for deer and other, big game animals to thrive. While humans were still allowed to hunt for population control the main purpose of the herds was for the bigger were to chase. Most kin chose to live lakeside, near the border of the forest. That didn't make the location unpopular with humans; as far as Kaoru knew, the pack lived lakeside as well.

Attracting pack attention had been something Kaoru had wanted to avoid. Unfortunately, city regulations required that she send the pack a formal announcement of her name, the nature of her shift form and a current address. Every new Kin was on a standard probation for the first six months and if they kept themselves out of trouble, the pack left them alone.

Her first few weeks had been… interesting. At least until she had learned to keep her head down and changed apartments; she had been so very naïve. She had been lucky that she had managed to keep from attracting the attention of the pack. She had been expecting it. Most female werewolves were watched, even if the pack had no inclination to extend an invitation to join. It wasn't until she had been applied and been accepted into the local college that she realized why. Her name had mislead them to believing she was a boy.

She could only assume that the pack thought she was male as well. It explained why she hadn't received any contact from them besides the letter acknowledging her presence in the city and a warning that any harm to human or kin would be dealt with. The pack was less likely to keep a close eye on a rogue male who was keeping his head down than a female. It was one of the reasons she had gotten into trouble early on. Too many males of any species too interested in what a lone female was doing.

At least human females where allowed to have independence free of their families.

Fitting in as a human had been easier than she thought. Her interaction had mostly been with her students and her younger cousin's friends when she lived at the dojo. Humans hadn't really interested her once she graduated high school and dug into the task of helping preserve her father's legacy in Kamiya Kasshin. Now she was learning what she had missed.

Her aging had stopped at eighteen for as long as she chose to make the change once a month; so it had been easy to slip back onto a college campus. Whatever attempts to stay on the edges of campus life had been ruined and she had found herself dragged into incoming freshman activities. Blending her were instincts into the human world had surprisingly easy and she found that the human lifestyle fascinated her. The dorms had almost driven her crazy the home she rented with a friend had almost been more than she could handle, but she had learned to cope. She had even come to enjoy the chaos that was in her little three-bedroom, two-story home.

The downstairs belonged to Kamatari.

Kaoru would have been content downstairs but there had been a minor issue with the bathroom. Since bathroom space was not one of major concern, she had let him have the master bedroom. The third room had been converted into a guest room, for any number of the random friends that stopped by or stayed too late. So she only had to share the upstairs with the wide room they had used as a game room sometimes office space. Those three years were precious memories filled with exploding pizza, alarm clocks going off at all hours, and late night excursions into bars and clubs that had left her dizzy.

_She loved it. _

Two weeks ago, they had all graduated. Kamatari was headed off east to follow up on a job he had earned after a long, difficult internship. She was searching for a new apartment and a job that would let her use her degree without her having to compromise her internal wolf. That was going to cause some problems, since if she joined the kin community again, she would gain attention she didn't want. If she didn't, then she would be treated like a human and things could get complicated. She had learned many things about her instincts – not all of them good – but she _had_ learned she didn't appreciate having what she considered her territory invaded.

Kamatari learned about her other nature from pure necessity. Small things that her beast wouldn't compromise on that had made no sense to his human mind. Kamatari had asked her in his normal, blunt matter if there was something he should know. So she had told him.

Tonight was Kamatari's idea. She wasn't entirely certain how she managed to be talked into this little mess… She should have seen this coming. Chemistry class _hadn't_ been worth this. Still… she supposed she should have known better than to make a bet with a man more stubborn that she was. It had been made for a good reason; Kamatari had needed to complete his internship. The bet just goaded him through it. Now she had to pay the price.

Kamatari had left her alone to study the effect. The pants were so damn tight they had taken fifteen minutes to wiggle into… and she had never been more thankful for the years spent in kendo and running as a wolf. Pulling a face, she wondered how she was supposed to get them off. Sighing heavily, she rubbed her temples.

"Kamatari! I hate you!"

"You look sexy. Now shut up and put those fabulous shoes on so we can go make people drool at our unbelievable good looks!"

Trying to tug the scrap of fabric that Kamatari had called a shirt down a little lower, she scowled as the movements of the material reminded her that there wasn't even a back. It was held in place on her body by thing, clear plastic straps. Angling her head to see if it was a ridiculous as she remembered, all she could see was the line of her spine and skin.

"I _really hate you_!"

Her hair was curled and messy and getting _everywhere_. The entire effect was…

It was interesting.

Somehow she knew she was going to spend the rest of the night saying the word 'no'. Especially since the places Kamatari liked to go were always… _interesting_. He firmly believed she needed to get in touch with her inner-kin and meet more wolves. To _'make nice little puppy babies'._

X

The place Kamatari had chosen to drag everyone was… a place only Kamatari would pick. It was run by kin, but catered to both human and other. There was a waiting list that wrapped around the building, but Kamatari had a friend on the inside and somehow managed to get them onto the entrance list.

Kaoru just didn't ask.

Kaoru enjoyed herself. Kamatari was an excellent dancer, even if he looked better in those jeans than she did. She managed to ingrain herself deeply enough into the booth and her friends that she avoided most of the attention she had been afraid she was going to get. She had taken pains to learn how to mask her _ki_, to mostly appear and feel human, but she knew she couldn't mask it completely. It was a curiosity for the kin and it drew attention.

All night she had felt a stare burning between her shoulder blades. She had scanned the floor once or twice from below lowered lashes, trying to find the source, but had been unable to locate it. Feeling annoyed with herself – and whoever was starring at her so blatantly without coming out of the shadows – she threw herself into her dancing with the others.

Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, feeling sweaty and tired, Kaoru turned to track down Kamatari. She was ready to go. Halfway through the scan, her gaze collided with a pair of pale, moon yellow eyes. Her breath caught in her throat at the blatant heat in that look, but it wasn't until he broke the connection that she realized she had been holding her breath. Her mouth ran dry as his lashes lowered and his gaze swept over her body and then slowly lifted back to her face. The edge of his mouth kicked up to one side in a blatant challenge, daring her to react to him.

_Wolf_. The gut clenching, instinctive thought hit her even as she immediately realized that his posture and gaze named him dominant. Butterflies erupted in her stomach as her instincts sat up and took notice all the while those yellow eyes gleamed with challenge. He wanted her to play.

"Kaoru!"

She jerked her eyes away; turning to meet Kamatari's smiling face. "Shura said you were ready to leave."

_Was she_? Offering Kamatari a weak smile, she nodded and moved to follow him. Licking her bottom lip, she turned her head and let her gaze clash with those amused, challenging eyes one more time before heading away from him.

Some gut deep instinct told her that wasn't going to be the last time she saw him. While she may have managed to avoid the pack's radar in the past…

She just didn't think that she was going to manage it in the future.

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**Please Comment**


	4. Wait

Number 053 of the 100 Situations Muse Chart. Written because Kenshin does have a more patient side. =)

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Kenshin smiled his thanks as the waitress placed a slice of cobbler in front of him, still warm enough that the ice cream was already melting. She was new. Digging into the sticky dessert, he let his eyes wander. All the regulars were settling in for dessert and coffee, a few mopping up crumbs from the meals they had ordered earlier. Tae only served dinner until nine, but she kept the desert and coffee coming until nearly one. Her motto – someone had to keep the locals fed – served her well and there was always a stream of steady business. Her sister Sae would open a six with breakfast. The local college students would pack the place for the cinnamon rolls.

By now, he knew everyone here by face if not by name. Saitoh sat in the back corner his empty bowl pushed to the side. His wife would be joining him a little later for cake and coffee as they both relaxed after a long day at the precinct. Until she arrived, everyone generally pretended he wasn't there.

Yahiko was waiting on tables tonight. He only waited on tables when Kaoru was too busy to fit her normal hectic schedule into her schoolwork. Kenshin frowned a little until he spotted his sister, hunched over pile of books, a tall mug of coffee in front of her. She looked tired again. Scrapping his spoon along his plate, he finished off the last of his desert. From what he had managed to pick up from various conversations, Yahiko was doing pretty well in school, but things had gotten a little tight since Kaoru had started classes last fall.

He wondered why no one in their family was helping.

"If you keep starring," Sano teased as he sat down, "People are going to think you like the girl."

Kenshin ignored his friend, picking up his coffee mug and reluctantly moving his eyes away from the way her shoulders were rounded with stress and exhaustion. It was difficult to fight the urge to walk over and ask her if she needed help with anything, but he already knew the answer. An over bright smile, shadowed eyes, and a polite 'thank you, but were fine'.

"How is the building coming?" Kenshin asked, turning his mind back to his friend. Sano looked a little worn, but he looked like he had had time to shower.

"Better." Sano said with a sigh. "I think we weeded out all the idiots early this week."

The bell above the door dinged as Tokio entered, her heels clicking against tiled floor as she moved straight to her husband. She paused in front of Kaoru's table and Kenshin couldn't help the way his eyes lingered, watching in interest as the girls head came up. Tokio said something and Kaoru nodded, a faint smile flickering across her face before leaving again.

It wasn't any of his business. He was still curious. Taking another sip of his coffee, he turned his attention back to Sano.

"… ask her out."

Kenshin lifted a brow. "What?"

"Why don't you just ask the girl out?" Sano repeated. "Everyone knows you like her."

Kenshin sighed. The long standing argument between the two went on almost every time they entered the diner. Kenshin supposed that it was karma's way of paying him back for all the times he had delicately pushed Sano into getting to know his now-wife.

It was never a question of him _wanting_ to get to know Kaoru Kamiya better. It was always a matter of Kaoru showing any interest in him. At least with Megumi and Sano it was like sitting in the middle of a lightning storm – you never know which one was going to get hit first.

With Kaoru, he always felt like he was walking on eggshells.

"How is Megumi?" Kenshin asked, deliberately ignoring Sano's snort. However, Sano could take a large enough, repetitive hint and rambled on about the decoration for the house. Or rather, the decorations that Megumi wanted for the house that Sano was trying to talk her out of. Leaning back, his coffee cup cradled between his fingers, his eyes flickered back to the raven-haired woman quietly speaking to her brother.

X

"You should head home." Kaoru told Yahiko firmly. His shift had ended and he looked tired.

'_Almost as tired as I feel_,' she thought with a touch of wry amusement.

"You're not walking back home alone," Yahiko responded irritably, "That last time you took the bus that guy tried to grope you."

"I'm fine." Kaoru soothed. "You should still head home."

"No."

Knowing that it was useless arguing with Yahiko when he was in this sort of mood and that she was wasting precious minutes, Kaoru just sighed and went back to her textbooks. It was a challenge, studying here. While the atmosphere was comfortable in a way a coffee shops weren't, it was terribly difficult to concentrate when someone was watching her. She was really starting to wonder. She had ignored it the last few times she had noticed, because she was always _so tired_ and he was also so _perfectly polite_. Interested men were _rarely_ polite. He never failed to leave her a tip when she was waiting on tables, always had a few polite things to say to her and never once did he make her feel uncomfortable. He asked how her day was. How classes were going. How her little brother was doing. Those were not the standard questions that a man who was interested in taking a woman out would ask. At least, not in her limited experience with them.

Except if she tilted her eyes up from her book, she could swear he was looking in her direction.

It didn't help that he was damn pretty… even if _was_ several years older than her.

Shaking her head, she tried to stare at equations and numbers and wondered if Tokio would ask her to see a shrink if she picked up the book and threw it across the room. At least she was babysitting the boys again on Monday. She had been trying to find a way to replace the income she was missing on Monday nights since the diner was closed. She wasn't entirely sure what prompted Tokio to ask her to babysit the _three_ boys, but it would last time she had baby sat, they had been mostly well behaved and went to bed early, allowing her to get some much needed study time in.

Things were slowly working their way from bad to not so bad.

Her spine prickled again, and when she looked up, he was talking to his spiky haired friend again. Sighing heavily, _she just didn't need this_; she dug back into her books and deliberately ignored the way she could feel him watching her.

X

Kenshin checked his watch and inhaled the last of his now lukewarm coffee. He was due to start his shift in half an hour. Rubbing the back of his neck, he stood. Sano was discussing something with Yahiko at the bar and he debated going over and saying something. Deciding that it was probably best to give her space when she looked that tired, he was about to turn to grab his jacket, when those blue eyes looked up and met his.

Dark circles were forming under her eyes but it was the expression in them that caught his attention – they were dark with confusion, frustration… and something that made his heart pound. He wondered if she even knew she was showing it. Nodding his head in a silent hello, he turned away and reached for his jacket. Pulling his hair free of the collar, he headed outside into the cold air.

Tucking his hands into his pockets, he let a slow smile curl along his mouth as he moved along the street. It seemed like his patience was finally starting to pay off. Now it was just a matter of getting her to admit what her eyes had already shown him.

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**_Please Comment!_**


	5. Confused

Because Sano and Kaoru should have been born as brother and sister. And Kenshin has way to much fun watching the taller man tear his hair out.

He does it on purpose I tell you.

Ravyn

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"Please explain to me why you thought this was a good idea?"

Kaoru paused from where she tinkering with the engine of one of the cars he was remodeling for the company. Angling her arm to wipe the sweat off her brow to keep from smearing grease across her face, she frowned at him.

"Did you ask me down here just to pick me for details? I have paperwork I can be doing on the importance of defensive training you know. Stacks of them."

Sano snorted and handed her a wrench. "Please. You know you miss it down here in parts instead of up there in litigation."

"I am not in litigation." Kaoru scolded, waving the wrench under his nose. "I've told you this. I'm not even in a management position."

"You boss around interns; you're in a management position."

"Statistics is not management."

"Why did you agree to the change again?"

"A girl can only handle being covered in grease and having her ass checked out so often without going crazy. We've been over this. I like where I am. It gives me the chance to work up to where I want to be."

"In management."

"In Defense!"

"Which requires management experience."

She rolled her eyes. "Have you checked the radiator?"

"Do I look like an idiot?"

Kaoru lifted a brow but turned back to the engine, her lips twitching. Sano huffed.

"That wasn't even the reason I asked you down here."

"I know. You want to grill me about him, don't you?"

"_What the hell were you thinking_? You accepted a date from someone in _Assassination and Crazy_!"

Kaoru rolled her eyes. "That's _not_ the name of the department."

"It damn well should be."

She shoved a greasy finger in his chest. "It was just a date."

"Did you say yes to another one?"

"Not yet."

"Good."

"Although he was dropping hints about that new Italian place I have been wanting to check out that requires reservations a month in advance."

"Tell Misao you want a girl's night. I haven't seen a place the weasel can't get into."

"It's more fun if he pays."

"Kaoru!"

"What?"

"Are you nuts?" Sano waved his arm around. "You cannot date short, crazy redheads who have no compunctions against cheating!"

"Why not?"

"Assassination! You do know what section of the company that is?"

"The one that shares floor space with Defense?"

"_Kamiya Kaoru_!"

She waved a hand. "Seriously Sano, it's not like he asked me to marry him. It's just a few dates. And you don't know that he is in that department anyway. His file is black tabbed, I checked."

"_You. Did. What_?"

"Checked. You really don't think I am going to go out with a guy from _this_ company without checking to see what sort of clearance I would need to see his file, do you?"

Sano's mouth was moving but nothing was coming out.

"Besides, when I told him that, he laughed."

Sano made a strangled noise.

"And it's not like its interdepartmental dating or the higher ups don't know about it. I don't think Himura could be subtle if my life required it. And he seems to do what he wants anyway. Plus, I made it clear I wasn't jumping into anything serious with him, wasn't going to risk my job in anyway and that I required notice if he was interested in anything more than casual dating. He said that was fine. So no worries."

"You cannot bargain with men like that!"

"It's all about leverage, Sano."

"They don't understand simple concepts like that outside of 'mine' and 'mine'."

"You act like you know him."

Sano crossed his arms. "I helped with a few missions."

"And?"

"He doesn't understand the normal, human concept of the word 'no'."

"According to Megumi, neither do you."

Sano scowled at her. "That's not the point. _The point_ is that he is very close to the higher ups and it's dangerous."

"I can take care of myself."

Sano glared at her. "Kaoru…"

She put her hands on her hips and stared at him. "Is there something you want to say Sano? We can always go see if the dojo is being used."

He scowled at her. "Would you reconsider this… this… _dating thing_ if I win?"

"Hardly. He can afford a few expensive meals and I'm tired of ramen."

"See! It's thinking like that that's going to get you into trouble!"

"Being tired of ramen?"

"Thinking you can get away with a few meals! Men like Himura are after _things_ Kaoru!"

"Well, he's very pretty. If he is as good in bed as he is in keeping his hair in fabulous shape it might be worth it."

Sano was spluttered. "I cannot believe you said that!"

"The pretty or hair part?"

"The _sex_ part!"

"Why?"

"You're supposed to die a virgin!"

"Sano, I haven't been a virgin since I was seventeen and decided to join the company."

"_**What**_?"

"You think I was going to get involved with a group like this as a virgin? _Are you_ crazy?"

Sano dropped his head against the roof of the car and moaned. Kaoru shrugged and continued to fiddle with the belts. Eventually he pulled himself together and glared at her.

"You are just going to do what you want, aren't you?"

"Don't I always?"

"You've clearly been around Misao too long."

"Misao at least has the dignity to threaten to remove the insides of anyone who breaks my heart. You've just been yelling at me for dating."

"… you better not fall in love with him."

"Sano! It's just a few dates. Nothing serious!"

"I still don't trust him."

"I still don't care."

He huffed. "If I end up with redheaded nieces and nephews I'm going to be pissed."

"Just. A. Few. _Dates_."

Sano shook his head. "You'll see. Crazy like that never goes away."

Rolling her eyes she jumped off the front of the car and slammed the hood. "That should solve the problem. I'm going to go wash up and then head back to my real job. You're buying me dinner tonight."

"What? _Why_?"

"I can always go see if Himura wants to try out some sushi…"

"Fine! But _not_ sushi!"

"Indian then. You know what to order!"

Sano growled under his breath. That had not gone as smoothly as he had planned. Narrowing his eyes, he wondered exactly how much work it would take to go directly to the source of the problem.

He would think about it over Indian food.

* * *

_Please Comment._


	6. Fast

I think the original note I had with this was along these lines "I felt like taunting, so I have..."

Don't think that has changed much.

Demon Kenshin/Demon Kaoru... fangs.

What more should I say?

Ravyn

* * *

Kaoru ran her tongue over dry lips.

She wasn't certain what had started the fight but she was _very_ aware of what had ended it. He wasn't the tallest man in the room but there was something to be said about a demon with his coloring; more than his ability to instantly catch and command attention. The fact that the his skin was flecked with blood didn't do a damn thing to make him less attractive.

She wondered what he tasted like.

His most startling feature – surprisingly it wasn't his coloring – was the pair of wings he had furled tightly against his black. They were black and starkly contrasted to his vivid hair; they were nearly as long as he was tall… more than decoration then. Thoughtfully she rubbed a sweat slick palm against her hip.

She wasn't the only one in the room admiring him.

She did think that she was the only one he had noticed.

It was such a _pity_ she was supposed to be somewhere else. That gaze had held a particular sort of promise that any other night she would have taken him up on. Her breath caught in her throat as those yellow eyes slid in her direction again – to her amusement he must have read something in her expression because the corner of his mouth kicked up in the beginning of a smirk. Narrowing her eyes, Kaoru considered him. It was possible that he might take her disappearance as a sort of… challenge. Watching the way his muscles shifted under warm skin as he moved to sheath his sword, she _almost_ hoped he would. However, she was supposed to meet someone soon and while it was going to be an… interesting meeting of sorts, she was disappointed with the knowledge that it wouldn't be nearly as _fun_ as the redhead.

Life wasn't easy. Such a pity.

Slipping back into the crowd, she moved towards the front door. It only took minutes to lose herself in the maze that the underworld had become. If humans knew what lived beneath their feet they might not sleep nearly as well at night. Fighting the urge to smile, she allowed the shadows to lead her deeper into the heart of the city. The club she had just left was on the fringes of the gate between worlds and a popular place for minor demons and imps to harass anyone who might have wandered a little deeper than they intended.

Where Kaoru wanted to be, minor imps and demons were not only the prey, but they were hardly worth the time of the bigger fish who stalked the streets. The faint, lingering scent of blood was the first sign that you were approaching the heart of the city and the air always seemed to waver as if just waiting for the next scream to feed it.

She almost pitied any human who wandered this deep; there were worse things than losing your soul – especially when their fear tasted so good. Pausing, she breathed in deeply, enjoying the metallic tang in the air. The shadows were welcoming to her kind instead of deadly and they sang. Too bad she couldn't play with them either. Humming lightly in her throat, Kaoru continued to penetrate into the growing darkness.

"I was wondering if you would appear tonight."

Kaoru turned and lifted a brow at the demon standing in front of her. She supposed he was supposed to be beautiful but he was too… _much_, for her taste. Clicking her tongue, Kaoru shifted her weight, smiling slightly at the taller man. "Now, you should know better. I never turn down the chance for a good fight."

His eyes narrowed. "You'll sing a different tune when this is finished."

Runes the color of blood began to glow along the lines of his body. Kaoru laughed at him.

"Now, now pet. That isn't want you want. This is my element." She shook her head. "I have other… _entertaining_ activities to attend to. I was rather hoping you were going to point me in the direction of your master."

Her black-blade formed in her hand as she watched the ruins along the demons skin continue to increase in power. Silly little boy; too bad he never learned that monsters come in all sizes.

"How amusing," the voice surprised both demons to turn and looked at the man approaching. Kaoru lifted a brow in surprise. It was the redhead from the club, his wings in a half-furl, an amused smile curling the edges of his shapely mouth.

"I was almost hoping for a dramatic rescue but you seem to have things well in hand."

Kaoru lifted a brow as sharp fangs glittered in the moonlight as he smiled. If he had tracked her this deep, then her original classification of his rank would have to be rethought. She sighed as she was forced to take a step back and deal with the idiot. He has under estimated her powers, hoping the brightness of his magic would temporarily blind her light sensitive eyes. Silly, stupid child. He hadn't realized that her mother had chosen her lovers in an attempt to breed some of her kind's natural weaknesses out of her blood.

In the end she didn't even have to use her sword. Sighing heavily at the lack of fun, Kaoru turned and eyed the redhead.

"Now, as for dealing with you," she sheathed her sword and placed one hand on her hip. "Don't you know it's not nice to stalk without at least giving the girl your name?"

"A shadow demon," his voice was thoughtful as he moved forward, his movements almost lazy as his wings flexed behind his back. "I would never have guessed, your kind tend to keep deeper to the darkness."

Kaoru flashed him a smile, not quite relaxing her stance. "My kind? I wasn't aware that _your kind_ spent much time in the shadows."

She was relatively amused that each step she took he echoed, pushing her further into the alley. Deeper into the shadows she called home.

His smile was sharply fanged but he said nothing.

Kaoru clucked her tongue. "You're not one of those men who is all talk and no fun, are you?"

Perhaps taunting an unknown, ranked demon wasn't the wisest course of action but she was bored and didn't like the smug set to his mouth and shoulders. As if he had won a challenge she hadn't bothered to pay attention to.

Her back hit the wall hard enough to leave bruises but it was the hand that fisted in her ponytail, clawed fingers tangling against her scalp as he jerked her head back – fangs sinking just far enough to split the skin of her lower lip, that had her reflexively grabbing his waste. She deliberately dug her claws into his side, feeling the way his muscles rolled against her palm in response; the way his wings snapped open behind him, shielding what little light filtered this deep in the realm, brushing against the wall next to her.

He pulled back enough to let his tongue drew lazy circles along the line of her lip until the wounds healed.

"It's not nice to tease," he growled, lifting his head to watch her from heavy lidded, cat-yellow eyes. "I tend to bite."

* * *

_**Please Comment.**_


	7. Deliver

Written with a few things in mind. Haven't really developed beyond this snapshot.

Ravyn

* * *

Kaoru stared blankly at the man standing on her front porch. It wasn't so much that he was attractive (where did he get that hair? And those eyes?) or really that he was short (did men really come in that size?) But the expression on his face. Clearly he hadn't been expecting her.

Hefting her bokken a little higher on her shoulder, she studied him from under her sweat damp bangs.

"Can I help you?"

He rocked back on his heels, head tilting as he considered her before offering her a smile that looked rather sheepish.

"I'm looking for Sano?"

"Well, you're in the right place…" She let her words hang.

"Kenshin."

"Kenshin," she continued on. "Let me go get him for you."

"Thank you."

She nodded and shut the door. "Sanosuke!"

He lifted his head off the floor and blinked at her. "I take it wasn't the guy delivering our lunches?"

"_My_ lunch and no," Kaoru informed him, kicking his leg as she walked by. "There is a redhead on my porch."

Sano sat up. "A redhead?"

Kaoru held her head a little over her head. "Short. Lots of hair. Pretty eyes. Says his name is Kenshin?"

Sano shot to his feet. "You talked to him?"

"He was on my porch!"

"But…"

"Sano, if you don't want him on my porch, then get rid of him. And if you try to steal my food when it arrives, I'll break your legs."

"… did he say anything?"

"He looked a little lost. Maybe you should go and see what he wants!" She informed him around the towel she was wiping her face with. "Then get back here so I can finish kicking you around for the day."

Peeking around the towel, she blinked when she realized he was gone.

X

"What are you doing here?" Sano hissed as he shut the door. He hoped Kaoru was too preoccupied with thoughts of food to follow him. "We had a deal."

The small redhead lifted a brow. "I am aware of that."

Sano pointed a finger at him. "Then why Are. You. Here?"

Calmly he reached into his pocket and handed him an envelope. "I believe that is yours."

Sano almost dropped it. "What?"

The edges of the redhead's mouth curved and the smile was a little sharp to be comforting. "You forgot to pick up your paycheck."

"I didn't take you for a delivery boy."

"I'm not." He shrugged. "However, I was going to be in the area."

Sano gritted his teeth. "This area is off limits."

Kenshin's eyes wandered towards the door. "I see why."

Sano stiffened but before he could get a word out Kenshin was turning away and moving down the steps. Sano clenched his fingers around the envelope in his hands and took several calming breaths.

"Sano! Hurry up! I don't have all day to spend beating you to death you know!"

Opening the door, he stepped in and closed it before flicking the locks into place.

"Hey, how do you feel about going out for lunch?"

* * *

**_Please Comment_**


	8. Happy

I don't do cannon often, but I do try my hand at it occassionally. Maybe someday I'll even get a muse that is cannon without any supernatural twists to it! =)

Hope you enjoy.

Ravyn

* * *

Kaoru curled her arms around her shins and rested her chin on her lifted knee. The dojo was quite tonight, Kenshin having already walked the dojo and locked the gate. She had peeked down the hall some time ago and the lantern he kept in his room was unlit.

Not that that particularly meant anything. He was as quiet in the dark as he chose to be and never seemed to need a lantern to find his way around. Sighing, she unlaced one hand and reached for the blanket, tugging it closer to her body, the edges curling over her shoulders.

She was starting to doubt what she had seen on the beach. Biting down on her lower lip, she curled a little further into herself. It had been two weeks since Yahiko had relocated himself to Sano's old place but she hadn't seen anything resembling the look in his eyes after…

'What did you expect?' she mused. 'He thought you were dead.'

But she wasn't and he had known that for a few days at least. Closing her eyes, she tilted her face and let some of the evenings calm settle her nerves.

"Kaoru-dono?"

She opened her eyes and shifted around, surprised to find him standing just outside of her bedroom. His weight was balanced on his heels and his body language was relaxed, almost subdued but when he shifted a little now that he had her attention, she felt her insides still at the way his eyes were angled at her.

"Kenshin. You're still up."

The careful smile of the Rurouni matched the movement of his hands – placating even before he admitted his reasons for still being awake. But his eyes never changed.

"Yes."

And that was all he was going to say about it. Hiding her twitch of annoyance by shifting the blanket a little closer, she tilted her head at him.

"Did you need something?"

Her voice came out relaxed and she was thankful. Seeing him there made her feel a little challenging. Not having the interruption of any of their well meaning friends made her twitchy. And watching him made her heart ache. The combination never boded well for anyone.

"Would you like some tea?"

She considered it. Having tea would be nice – there was a bite in the air tonight – and it would probably placate whatever demons were keeping him awake. Except tonight she felt vulnerable and her emotions were a riotous mess; Kenshin might pretend that he didn't pick on those sorts of emotions but she had heard enough half comments before, when they were in Tokyo and then by Enishi to know that wasn't the exact truth. She weighed the odds that he would sleep after tea if she let more slip than he would be comfortable with… or if it even mattered. She wanted to say he wouldn't have asked unless he didn't mind but she knew better.

So she pursued her lips and pinned him with her own look. "Were you planning on making tea or did I wake you up?"

He didn't do anything as suspicious as shifting his weight but the careful way he hid his eyes behind his bangs told her enough.

"Kenshin…"

"It is no trouble, Kaoru-dono."

Now she was feeling cranky. Standing in a motion that was easy if not exactly graceful, she adjusted the blanket and then moved several steps into the room. He tilted his head back to watch her but the glimmer in his eyes was gone.

She wished it meant the demons weren't so close to the surface tonight… but it was likely he had simply chosen not to let her see them. "I can make the tea."

He nodded in agreement but kept the smile.

Looked like she wouldn't be making the tea… Huffing, she blew her bangs out of her eyes.

"Fine, you can make the tea. I'll join you in a moment."

He shifted his weight on habit at her tone, turning just enough that he wasn't directly in the path of a fist should she chose to use it. He paused before he left her room completely; back to her, his hair gleaming in the moonlight. She curled her fingers to keep from reaching for it.

"Kaoru-dono…"

"Yes Kenshin…" she kept her exasperation in her voice.

He hesitated and then turned just enough to study her through narrowed eyes that seemed to glitter. Her breath caught in her throat as he seemed to gather himself and then lowered his eyes to her feet and then lifted them back to her face. There wasn't anything particularly lingering in that glance, nothing to suggest more than a casual, quick perusal – but the faint, tiny glimmers of more was there in his eyes.

And it was more than he had let her see before. Swallowing hard, she watched as he started to shuffle down the hall.

"I'll find another blanket."

She bit her lip when he disappeared and the edges of her lips pulled up into a small smile.

Maybe they were making progress anyway.

* * *

_**Please Comment**_


	9. Cold

This is the first part of a series of drabbles involving the Mob world.

Violence and possibly some crack.

Ravyn

Note: This hasn't been beta read.

* * *

Kaoru hurried down the walkway to her apartment.

The day was miserable, cold and wet with a gray overcast that blocked out any cheerful rays of sun in the winter afternoon. The wind seemed to be enjoying itself, whistling loudly through metal steps and across rooftops, tugging at the edges of her coat. Loud thundering noises occasionally rumbling in warning for a storm that had yet to do more than linger over the city like some sort of shroud; she should have just stayed home.

There had been four arrests this afternoon – at least that she had seen. All of them had been on the quick, quiet walk to and from the little office she played secretary at. The police force had to be feeling particularly vindictive today. Hunching a little further into her coat, Kaoru wrapped her arms more securely around her grocery bag. The little idiot at the counter had stuck her eggs in the same bag as the milk and she was being forced to juggle the single paper bag to keep from cracking the eggs or letting the bag slip and spilling the milk.

They had called again yesterday.

While she was pretty sure it was the normal canvassing for mob members, it still bothered her each time they called, the monotonous voice reminding her that any affiliation with anyone thought to be a gang member or part of the mob would immediately be punished by seizure of their home and private possessions until further evidence was gathered. It would have been less a threat if police hadn't been jumping at shadows – the mob was winning.

She hated those phone calls. While they were just scare tactics to keep what little bit of the public that hadn't taken sides under control, they made her nervous. She did have ties to the mob. Most everyone did, anymore. Ever since the new leadership of the police force had been put into place by the government… she had to be extremely careful. She hadn't heard or seen Sano in months and the papers – religious in publishing names and families of those who were caught –hadn't mentioned his name yet. He hadn't even made the suspect column. Every morning she opened the paper with cold fingers and a dry mouth.

If Sano fell, someone would connect him to her.

There wasn't much for them to take, not anymore. They had already confiscated her dojo for police training, giving her a day to move as much of her things as possible. It had been Sano who had come in and helped her haul the good furniture out of the dojo and helped her sneak her father's antique sword collection out from under the noses of the men sent to supervise.

She had sold all but two of them on the black market for emergency cash to bribe her way out of a few dangerous encounters with police on street corners. The only reason she had the two that were left was because Sano wasn't there to trade for them so she could stay anonymous. She hadn't seen him in six months – not since the night he had shown up, his head cracked open and needing stitches in his side.

She hadn't asked, he hadn't offered information. He had downed half of her emergency whiskey in three gulps and clenched his teeth while she stitched his side. Her emergency care class had only covered the basics and she still felt sick when she thought about it. Sewing wasn't her best gift and while they had been mostly straight, she had been more worried about the cut to his head. Once he was bandaged and clean, he had simply adjusted the towel keeping him from bleeding on her couch and then passed out.

The next morning, two cans of tuna and her six pack of water was gone; along with the body that should have been Sano, asleep on her couch. Since then he had all but cut her off. She did her best to stay under the radar, working as a secretary for a low budget animal hospital. It smelled and she always came home with a headache, but her dress conformed to standards and her features were kept clean of any sort of paint or make up. While she didn't doubt she could go underground if she needed to, it was the constant stress over what it was that Sano was doing that kept her in the plain sight of the police. If for some reason Sano needed a place to hide she would be available for it.

Opening the door to her apartment, Kaoru shivered at the cold air. She had forgotten to turn the heater on before she left for work again. Swearing under her breath as she opened the fridge and placed her small purchases into their rightful places, she headed into the bedroom, pausing to turn the heat up and then changing into something warmer. Ditching her work skirt and blouse and taking her time in peeling off her stockings – Kaoru changed into a pair of comfortable jeans and large sweatshirt, pulling on her favorite fluffy house shoes. Her hair was taken out of its confining bun and a scrunchie went around her wrist to put it into a ponytail later; once the tension in her temples eased.

Rubbing the back of her neck, Kaoru headed into the kitchen to start putting dinner together. Since she had become rather proficient at cooking noodles and the spaghetti sauce she preferred had been on sale a few days ago, she had gone ahead and picked up a bag of salad and some dressing to go along with it. She had considered picking up a loaf of French bread, but her last attempt had forced her to pull the battery out of her fire alarm and open a window. Instead, she settled on some of the soft wheat loaf she kept on hand for sandwiches.

She was draining the noodles when someone starting beating on her door. Startled, she almost poured the boiling liquid across her hand, managing to avoid the disaster by spilling the noodles across her kitchen floor instead. Stomping her foot in aggravation and letting out a few colorful word choices to make her feel better, she turned and glared at the door.

The pounding started again, louder this time and Kaoru hissed under her breath. They were going to aggravate the neighbors soon and then someone would call the police. Moving towards the door Kaoru peaked out of the spy hole and found herself looking at a familiar face. _Sano_.

"Jou-chan, I know you're in there," Sano's voice was loud enough to wake the dead. Swearing, she thought she heard someone else echo her choice in expletive; she tore the locks open and swung the door open. She had just opened her mouth to hiss at him when he reached over and promptly moved her three feet inside.

"Lock the door." He said over his shoulder. Kaoru kicked him as hard as her bunny slippers allowed in the shin. The fact that he yelped gave her aching toes a sense of justice and she kicked him again.

"That hurts!" Sano informed her as he set her down on the arm of her couch, frowning down at her. "Is that any way to greet an old friend?"

"Sano," Kaoru said with great control, "if you do not tell me why you felt the need to bang on my door, _loudly_, then once I opened the door, _manhandle me,_ I am going to go and pick the noodles your loud barrage of noise made me spill all over my floor and shove them down your throat." Her tempered cooled a little when Sano looked properly chastised and a little worried.

"I need to use your shower." Sano said. At her expression, he hurried on. "I mean, he needs to use your shower."

Kaoru frowned, vaguely remembering Sano telling someone to lock the door. Peering around Sano's broad shoulder she found herself looking at a short red-haired man drenched in blood. Blood that was being contained by her welcome mat but would probably not stay there. He was watching her from behind slick bangs; with eyes as golden as the tacky wallpaper in her bathroom.

"If he gets blood on my carpet I am going to shove the noodles down _his_ throat," Kaoru told Sano in a pleasant voice, tilting back to look at him so she could smile at him. "Understand? Otherwise there is soap under the sink and towels are where they always are."

Sano grinned and nodded, moving around the couch and motioning the man to follow. The fact that his shoes squelched as he moved had her shutting her eyes; she didn't want to see the damage that he had left on her carpet. There was a faint breeze and then Sano was explaining where the things were. Taking a deep breath, Kaoru opened her eyes and stared in surprise at her clean carpet. The blood was still on the welcome mat, it was rather doomed but the rest of her carpet seemed clean. _How on earth_? Shaking herself, Kaoru headed back into her kitchen to start cleaning up her mess.

By the time Sano came back into the kitchen the noodles were off the floor, the (now) scorched spaghetti sauce was dumped into the skink, the pot soaking and she had managed to mop up the spilled water on the floor.

"I hope you realize," Kaoru informed him, turning to wave the end of the mop threateningly, "that you are buying me dinner."

Sano rolled his eyes. "How do you figure?"

Kaoru gave him a serene smile. "Why Sano, you haven't seen me in six months! I am so happy to see you… _what_? You are here to buy me dinner so I don't start asking nosy questions about redheads covered in blood? Of course! I would be delighted." She lost the smile. "The Chinese delivery place is taped to the fridge. I want the orange chicken and dumplings, egg roll and fried rice. I don't care what you and your friend get."

She grinned at him and put the mop up while he mumbled things under his breath. Kaoru ignored him and started searching for the black plastic trash bags she kept so she could throw away the mat before the blood seeped through onto the floor. Bloodstains were not something she could make disappear by batting her lashes at her land lord.

Once she was finished with the mat and had washed her hands, she turned to see Sano hang up the phone a disgruntled expression on his face.

"You sure know how to hit a man in his wallet," Sano informed her, a grudging smile tugging at his lips.

"I am a secretary barely pulling in rent money," Kaoru shot back. "You can suck it up and be a man." She hesitated. "The streets are crawling with police, Sano. You might as well plan on staying here until its safe."

Sano's expression was torn between gratitude and worry, but before he could open his mouth the bedroom door opened and the redhead walked into the room. His eyes were still cat-yellow and his hair was still red, but at least he wasn't dripping blood onto her carpet. She frowned when she realized that there was a bag in his hand and that he had different clothing on. A pair of dark jeans and dark t-shirt that clung to his damp shoulders; instead of the black clothing he had worn earlier.

"Sano ordered dinner," Kaoru told him, refusing to be uncomfortable around him. She could be honest with herself and admit that she _didn't want to know_. "I have no idea what he got you but you might as well make yourself…"

"Kaoru! You disappoint met! No beer?" Sano suddenly bellowed.

Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Why on earth would I keep in it my apartment if you weren't here to bring it into my apartment without permission?"

Sano made a noise in the back of his throat that might have been a protest.

She turned to face him, propping her hands on her hips. "There is juice and water, and if you touch the Gatorade I will be forced to take measures. Sano…." Kaoru moved forward to drag him away from her fridge, swatting his hands as he reached for her coveted olives. "You just ordered dinner! Go sit the hell down and get away from my fridge!"

"It's not like there is," his words were cut off as she drove her knuckles into the back of his head and his teeth clicked together.

"I would apologize for his behavior," Kaoru told the redhead who looked like he couldn't crack a smile if it bit him, "but since you are apparently running around with Sano you should be aware of it." She took a deep breath, "I'm Kaoru."

Something like surprise flickered through those bright eyes and for some strange reason, he seemed to relax.

"Kenshin," he said with a faint nod, his eyes drifting around the apartment. Kaoru realized suddenly that he hadn't taken his eyes off her until she introduced herself and he was just now taking in her things. How odd. Shrugging she went to wash the burnt pot, attempting to keep her hands busy so she couldn't tackle Sano, sit on his chest, and start demanding answers he couldn't give.

She had just finished when someone knocked on the door. Kaoru wiped her hands and marched over to Sano, holding out her hand expectantly. He gave a sigh and handed over a pair of twenties and then ducked around the corner, so that he had a good view of the door but the person wouldn't see him right away.

Kaoru couldn't see the redhead at all.

Kaoru opened the door with a bright smile, forcing her cheerful secretary persona to the front. The little man was new and Kaoru exchanged faint dialogue with him as he worked out her change.

"All this food for you?" He asked, his eyes flickering behind her.

Kaoru quickly thought of something embarrassing and offered him a sheepish grin, knowing her cheeks were turning pink. "It's been a long day, besides," she leaned forward and allowed her grin to slip into something a little cheekier. "Haven't you heard of the rule, why buy dinner when you can also buy lunch?"

The man looked at her for a long moment before smiling. "You be careful lady. Bad man seen running around tonight. Kill lots of police."

Kaoru made a show of frowning. "I will lock all my doors and locks like a good girl," Kaoru promised. "Have a nice night," she waited until he had taken a step back before she shut and locked her door, making certain the throw the deadbolt. Taking a deep breath and shooting a glare at Sano's frowning face she remained quiet for a count of ninety, putting the food on her counter and searching for serving spoons.

"He is gone," Kenshin's voice broke into her thoughts and she almost dropped the spoon.

"Cop?" Sano asked, moving into the living room to frown at the window. Kaoru rolled her eyes and walked over, making a show of looking out and then pulling the blinds shut.

"Happy?" Kaoru questioned.

"Not a cop, but someone looking for the chance to make a little change off a hot tip," Kenshin said finally. Kaoru didn't look up but felt his attention shift to her. "You did well."

"Thanks," Kaoru replied, her tone faintly sarcastic. "Now, if you are finished with the melodrama, I'm hungry."

Sano let out a low chuckle and moved over. "I had forgotten how dangerous you were with take-out food on the line."

"It's not like in college you knew how to cook," Kaoru pointed out, deciding to take one of the extra egg rolls for herself and just take the cart of orange chicken into the living room. She balanced the egg rolls and dumplings on top of the chicken and grinned to herself. Her table was covered in newspapers and menu's, she would clear it off later. She could sacrifice a few dumplings in the name houseguests, but the chicken was hers.

"You also have the habit of hogging my food for yourself, you endless pit."

Sano looked insulted. Turning mournful eyes to Kenshin he sighed when he found no sympathy. In fact, Kenshin seemed to be paying quite a bit of attention to Kaoru as she moved into the living area. Time to distract his friend,

"So you think that deliver boy is going to cause up problems?"

Kenshin turned his eyes back to him and gave a shrug. "Let's hope not."

"If you want to have a conversation I can't hear, go into the bedroom," Kaoru suggested without looking at them. "If you try riffling through my underwear again, Sano, I think I might kill you."

Sano felt himself blush. "That was an accident."

Kaoru turned, her mouth obviously full as she chewed and graced him with a single quirked eyebrow and flicked on the TV. Muttering under his breath, Sano filled his own plate and headed into the living room, pulling the hair tie out of Kaoru hair in retaliation.

"Dammit Sano, now I have sauce in my hair!" Kaoru growled, pulling the ends out of her food with a frown.

"Hey!" Sano said in surprise. "You grew it out."

Kaoru made a noise in her throat, closing her eyes and visibly counting to ten. "I work in a police regulated division and even though they don't pay attention to me, they do pay attention when I am walking the streets home," Kaoru said through clenched teeth. "They have… suggestions on hair and clothing. Now give me the hair tie back."

"No," Sano said, flopping onto her bean bag and leaving the couch for Kenshin, "Finders keepers."

"Asshole," Kaoru growled at him, shoving her hair behind her ears before tucking back into her food, while glaring at the news. She decided the best part of valor was ignoring Kenshin as he sat next to her, setting his glass on the coffee table—on the coaster, surprisingly enough. Someone had taught him manners. Flicking her eyes to Sano she took a bite of dumpling to hide her snicker, he obviously hadn't picked up anything.

The news droned on about the raids and there were pictures of the so-called attack on the police force. Kaoru felt her brows inch into her hairline in surprise: twelve officers dead. Two of them high ranking. They would be tearing the city apart. She felt the men watching her so she made a point not to give anything away with her facial cues, suddenly thankful that guarding her chi was habit.

"Well," Kaoru informed them, "I am going to put the cartoon in the fridge. If you need anything else, you can find it."

"Going to bed? Someone has turned into quite the sleepy head!" Sano teased.

"I am taking a shower, thank you very much. But now that you mentioned it, with all the stress levels you insist on bringing into my life, I think an early night's sleep is a good idea!" Kaoru shot back. "There is the blanket on the back of the couch and you know where I keep my spares. Otherwise, goodnight!"

Sano waited until the sound of the shower being turned on reached his ears before he turned away from the TV. "What do you think? Still looking for us?"

Kenshin frowned.

"Yes," he said flatly. "The informant would have told them the direction we were headed. How many people know of your contact with Kaoru?"

Sano frowned. "Shit. Not many. I made a point only to talk about her with you and Shinomori in case something happened to me. I don't think that little fuck Iizuka heard me talking about her." His knuckled turned white as he fisted his hand. "If he tries anything…"

"It will be tonight while we are here," Kenshin said calmly. Standing, he went to his bag and pulled out his sword. "Stay armed. Does she know how to fight?"

"Yeah," Sano admitted. "Pretty decent shot with a firearm and she can hold her own if they decide to use the old hack and slash with the sword."

He accepted the firearm that Kenshin handed him.

"Good," Kenshin said with a nod. Setting down on the couch, he reached for the remote and turned off the TV. Both men leaned back in their positions to wait.

X

Kaoru stepped out of the shower with a sigh of satisfaction, bending over to let her long hair fall forward so she could wrap it in a towel to absorb as much of the water as possible. The bathroom was thick with steam but she was quite content to leave it that way while she brushed her teeth.

Staring at her face in the mirror for long moments, she sighed. Tonight wasn't the time to indulge herself in picking out her flaws in an attempt to distract herself from the men in the living room. Opening the bathroom door enough to let the steam out she dropped the towel and pulled on her night clothing. She had never felt comfortable sleeping without a bra of some sort on with men in the apartment so she had dug out an old sports bra to wear. The blue and green flannel pajamas were the most comfortable set she owned and were warmer than her other options. Next came an application of deodorant and she was ready to ring her hair out and blow dry it.

Kaoru had just plugged in the blow dryer when the lights in the bathroom died. Swearing under her breath, Kaoru automatically moved away from the window in the bathroom and into her bedroom, biting her lip to stifle a yelp when she kicked her dresser. Starring blindly into the room she tried to regulate her breathing so she could listen for any noises. It could just be a power outage. They happened occasionally and with the weather as nasty as it had been there could have been lighting somewhere…

"Kaoru, we've got company coming," Sano said as he busted into the room, his body twitching like he wanted to strike a pose.

Kaoru was silent for half a heartbeat. "Did you just say that to me in that voice? Because if so I think whomever you are living with needs to restrict your intake of gangster movies." She smacked him in the ribs as she walked by, pleased with his grunt.

"How many?"

"Too many for us to take out here," Kenshin's voice was suddenly very close and Kaoru spun in surprise, her wet hair slapping against her cheek. "We need to move."

"Great," Kaoru said with a frown. "I take it the option of my staying here and being tied up in the closet, blindfolded won't fly?"

"Kaoru," Sano's voice was warning so Kaoru shifted backwards and thumped him. "Hey, no need to be violent!"

"We need to get to the roof," Kenshin said in a decisive tone. "We need to move now. Sano, get the bags. Kaoru, if you have shoes now would be the time to put them on."

Kaoru growled and moved towards where she had left her tennis shoes, near the door, and stilled in her search when she heard the glass in her bedroom breaking. There was suddenly a strong arm around her waist silently pulling her to her feet, yanking her foreword. She didn't hear her locks click, just the odd sound of a sword and then she was being pulled down the hall.

Gunfire rang sharply in her ears. Kaoru ground her teeth together to keep her natural reaction of screaming inside, moving her legs in an attempt to keep up with Sano who was pulling her much quicker than she was used to moving. Sano tucked her close against his side and rammed his shoulder into the door to the roof, knocking the flimsy lock free. Her feet didn't even touch the floor as Sano ran up the steps. Kaoru managed to get one arm around his waist as he continued his head long sprint. There was the sound of something breaking and the door at the top of the stairs burst open and Kenshin was suddenly in front of them and the wind was whipping her dark hair against her neck and cheek.

"How long?" Sano demanded, putting Kaoru on her feet. It had apparently rained at some point and her socks soaked up the cold moisture like a sponge. Curling her toes, Kaoru wrapped her arms around her chest and tried to keep from shivering.

"Two minutes," Kenshin said, sheathing what looked like a sword and strapping it to his chest. "I'll have to take her."

Sano swore. Kaoru frowned at him and cut her eyes back to the man who was seemed to be emptying the bag in front of him into several pockets and straps onto his person that Kaoru hadn't noticed before.

"Kenshin, I can take her…."

"Not and manage to keep yourself under cover," Kenshin said as he pulled out a dark trench coat and pulling it over his shoulders, hiding everything he had strapped to himself in on smooth motion of his shoulders. "Get to a bar and follow procedure."

Kaoru frowned. "What is he talking about?"

Kenshin looked over at his friend. "Sano, you can take her with her if you think you can kiss her without throwing up."

Sano made a face.

"He will take care of you," Sano said, looking down at her. "He is one of the best."

"Best at what?" Kaoru questioned, shivering with more than the cold.

"I'll see you later." Sano promised. Before Kaoru could see what he was going to do strong fingers wrapped around her wrist.

"You're going to have to trust me." Kenshin told her, pulling her against his chest.  
"Whatever you do, don't scream."

Then he was wrapping his arm tightly around her, lifting her off to the ground so that only her toes touched and her nose was pressed tightly into his neck.

In the next instant, the wind was whistling in her ears. Everything inside her was clamoring that she scream, that she do anything but lay passive against him. Her gasping was loud in her hearing when the wind suddenly stopped.

"Put your feet down," Kenshin murmured into her ear. Swallowing, with her eyes squeezed shut, Kaoru did as he asked.

"You just jumped off a roof." Kaoru said without taking a step away from him. "Next time, a little warning," shivering, but determined to stand on her own, Kaoru stepped away from him and glared. She couldn't see much more than his glittering cat eyes, but she tried.

"We need to move fast," Kenshin told her, lacing his fingers with hers and moving down the street. "As a child, didn't you want to be Batman?"

"No," Kaoru said sourly. "I always wanted to be Flash. He kept his feet on the ground."

"I'll try to keep roof jumping out of the rest of tonight's events," Kenshin said, pulling her into an alley and tilting his head so soft hair brushed her cheek, as if he was listening. "We were perfectly safe. Unfortunately, we are being followed. Sano said you knew how to use a gun."

"Yes."

The cold metal that filled her hand was almost expected.

"Don't shoot unless you have to. We won't be able to talk and I might have to leave you somewhere. Trust me. I _will_ come back. You won't be able to hear me. Use the gun as a last resort; it doesn't have a silencer so it will be loud." His lips brushed her ear and then he was pulling into an area she recognized only by the smell. Gangs kept on a loose leash by the mob used this place as a breeding ground and all the lights were shot out. She bit her lip at the thought of stepping on glass in her stocking feet, but Kenshin led her through the paths without a single incident.

She found herself tucked between two buildings with the edge of a trash binge part way concealing the entrance. The pressure on her shoulders was a clear message and, with a grimace, Kaoru settled herself on the rough ground, clutching the gun with her left hand.

Then he was gone.

Kaoru sat in the darkness for what felt like hours. She had almost screamed twice, both times thanks to the brush of what felt like a rat against her ankle.

She was so tense that she couldn't unhinge her jaw to shiver in the cold. And it was cold. It had seeped into her damp feet and saturated her wet hair until her body shook with it, her finger as far from the trigger as she could manage, afraid that she might accidentally shoot it off with her shivering.

She sucked in her bottom lip when she heard something slam into the trash bin so that the metal heaved and groaned until the opening was mostly closed off. Tucking her knees as close to her chest as she could, she pressed her nose against her knees in an attempt to warm her face with her breath.

"Kaoru," Kenshin's voice broke into her silence and her head came up. Her eyes scanned the darkness looking for where he was. "There should be enough space for you to crawl through; I promise there are no rats."

"I am not scared of rats," Kaoru growled, hiding her shiver of revulsion. "I am going to slide the gun first, alright?" He gave a noise for affirmation and she bit her lip at the loud noise of the gun and then scrambled after it. 'Do not think about what you are crawling through or the puddle…'

Warm hands pulled her to her feet and Kenshin swore. "I would offer you my coat," Kenshin told her quietly. "Except I cannot not guarantee that it's not covered in blood."

Kaoru forced herself to stand straighter. "I am fine," she was proud that her voice only wavered a little. "What else do we have to do?

Something flickered in those cat eyes and then she was being pulled forward swiftly.

"It won't be much longer and then we can get you warm." His voice was apologetic and his thumb brushed across her knuckles in a smooth caress for a single moment and then she was trudging again, struggling to keep up with his long strides.

"Just so were clear," Kaoru mumbled at him. "I am shorter than you."

She was surprised at the low chuckle that rolled from his throat, the same timbre of a cats purr. "I know," he promised. "Not much further."

Kaoru nodded and allowed him to pull her forward, trudging through the wet streets. Her feet would have started to ache but they were rather numb. Kenshin never slowed his pace and never lessened his hold on her hand as they moved at a steady pace.

"Here," Kenshin said finally, smiling into her eyes. "I will return in just a moment."

Then he was gone.

He was right. It didn't take him long. He also returned with a styrofoam cup that had steam.

"Drink that," Kenshin suggested, moving his body so it blocked the majority of the wind, pressing hotly against her side. "It's just coffee but it should help warm you a little. I'll find you an immune booster later."

"What are we waiting for?" Kaoru asked after she downed half the cup in several warm gulps that burned her tongue. However, it warmed the lining of her stomach and the back of her throat. If only she could warm up her feet.

"Our transportation," Kenshin commented in a wry tone. "I have been instructed to take you to a safe house."

"A safe house," Kaoru questioned, wrapping her cold fingers a little firmer around her cup. "You have those?"

Those eyes gleamed.

"We do. You are aware that you have been in the company of the mob for the entirety of the evening." His voice was warm.

"I didn't ask for a reason," Kaoru said sourly. "I would like to maintain my fantasy that I have simply bumped my head and you are a very odd imaginative friend."

Warm laughter ghosted as a puff of warm arm against her hair. "I shall keep that in mind."

"You keep saying that." Kaoru mumbled just as the husky rumble of what sounded like a motorcycle came into hearing. She downed the last of the coffee in a rush and turned to watch as it pulled up. A man scooted off the bike, set his helmet down on the handlebars, and walked away, never looking back.

"The sooner we start out trip, the sooner we can get you into a hot shower," Kenshin told her softly, pulling the cup from her fingers and dropping it into a waste basket. "Just hang on a little longer."

Kaoru settled next to him and made a face at the back of his head.

"I am perfectly fine." Kaoru informed him, stuffing her wet hair up into the helmet he handed her before smashing it down over her skull.

She thought she heard him laugh again and rolled her eyes. The sound of the engine blocked out most of the sounds, and she kept a good grip on Kenshin's waist, ignoring the damp spots on his jacket. It wasn't her first motorcycle ride, not with Sano as a friend but it was the coldest. With her wet hair, soaked socks and pajamas she was very glad for the heat of Kenshin's body. She had closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his back for some time when he made a slow turn. Opening her eyes as the engine shut off, she found herself in a parking lot.

"It's just a little from here," Kenshin told her as he waited for her to let go before standing. Shadows melted from the shadows until two figures stood there, a man and a woman.

"They are going to take the bike somewhere and we will have to walk to the rest of the way. I can carry you." The last sentence was said softly and Kaoru scowled at him before offering her helmet to the woman who smiled her thanks.

"I'm just waiting on you to pick a direction to start walking," Kaoru informed him as he continued to watch her. She heard him give a deep sigh before getting off the bike in a fluid motion and taking her hand in his again, picking a direction that seemed almost random to her in the gloom.

"You are very stubborn you know," Kenshin told her.

"May I suggest you go and preach at my parents graves?" Kaoru sweetly informed him. "It was their gene pool."

His fingers tightened their grip on hers but he said nothing. They came into a well lit stretch of homes and he made a point to slide his arm around her shoulders and down so his hand rested on the curve of her waist.

"These were my favorite pajama's," Kaoru informed him in a mournful tone when she caught him fingering the material. "Remind me to kick Sano."

"For what?" he sounded perplexed.

"He could have warned me that there would be puddles and rats and a great deal of blood at one point and I would have worn my second favorite pair of pajamas instead." Kaoru told him, wondering if he would notice if she snuggled a little closer for more of the warmth he seemed to be producing in such large amounts.

Kenshin made a noise that might have been a sigh or a groan, Kaoru couldn't quite decide.

"This," Kenshin informed her as he turned up a walkway into a home. It was a basic home with shrubs in front of the windows and what looked like a garage. "Is the safe house; or at least, it is mine and Sano's. We have a third bedroom that is now yours."

Kaoru made a noise in the back of her throat.

"Are you aware of what Sano leaves in the bathroom?" Her voice was a little raspy with exhaustion, but Kenshin didn't comment.

"You will be glad to know that each bedroom is equipped with its own bathroom. An unusual feat but one that I am sure you can appreciate." Kenshin replied, stopping to pull a key out from under a rock and moving to unlock the door. "There is a state of the art security system and I will write the code down for you," as he spoke he tapped out the code on the green buttons and then shut the door behind them. The house was warmer than the outside air and Kaoru sighed in relief.

"The third bedroom is this way," Kenshin coaxed, moving so she could follow him. "There are towels and soap under the sink along with conditioner and shampoo. If you will leave the door unlocked I will set something for you to wear inside the door."

Kaoru gave him a look. "I will be sure to take something throwable into the shower with me," she informed him. "If you try anything funny you're going to be going wherever you go tomorrow with an interesting bump."

Kenshin's lips curved. "I will behave with all the decorum necessary to meet such high standards," he promised. "Go warm up and don't lock the door."

Kaoru sighed. "Can I have the gun back?"

"No," he said, moving further down the hall than were her bedroom was. Kaoru shrugged and gave the room a cursory glance before heading into the bathroom. There was a curtain instead of those glass doors and she breathed a sigh of relief at the dark material before stripping down and stepping into the shower, turning on the water and yelping as the water came out cold and poured over her body. Shivering she bounced on her tiptoes until it turned warm and she sighed in relief. Reaching over she turned the water up until it burned and tilted her chin back so it could run down her front in almost scalding rivets. The door opened and Kaoru eyed the direction it was coming from and she smiled to herself when it shut quickly afterwards. Leaning out, she made sure he hadn't snuck in and settled in for a long shower.

When she was content that she was clean and warm she stepped out of the shower and dried her hair as quickly as she could. She even was able to attack it with a blow dryer found under the sink without the power going off. By the time she climbed into a baggy set of drawstring pants, thick socks and large over shirt (they had to be men's clothing) she was swaying on her feet. Stepping out of the bathroom she flicked the light off and blinked in surprise.

The bed was turned down so she could climb in and a lamp on the nightstand was turned on. On the nightstand was a large glass of something was a greenish tinge. She guessed it was the immune booster he had mentioned earlier. Taking a deep breath – he would have killed her earlier if he wanted and _she_ trusted _Sano_ – she gulped it down. Taking the implied invitation, Kaoru crawled beneath the sheets and turned the light off.

She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

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Please Comment.


	10. Affair

Because getting Sano into trouble is just really too much of a temptation. This one I blame completely on Jane Drew. Chatting about an affair prompt I had, she suggested something... and it turned into this...

Ravyn

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Kenshin sat down and ignored the speculative expression on Sano's face, more interested in the take-out box of orange beef in front of him. Closing his eyes for a moment to center his temper after a long morning of meetings, he broke open his chop sticks. He picked up the first piece of piece and popped it into his mouth with relief as Sano frowned at his buzzing cell phone, silencing it by clicking a button.

"She's denying it, you know."

Kenshin lifted a brow in a silent question as he chewed and realized that Sano hadn't touched his own food. The expression on his face was almost hurt.

"You can tell me you know. It's been months. It's not like it's a secret anymore."

Swallowing, Kenshin speared another piece of beef and forced himself to slow down. If he ate to fast he would have to return to his office instead of hiding out here in an empty conference room. Unfortunately, it seemed that for the first time _ever_ Sano was more interested in conversation than his stomach.

"Sano, I have no idea what you are talking about."

Sano snorted and finally picked up his chopsticks. "Right. As if you could hide something like that from _me_… I guess I'll just have to come clean first."

"What?"

Sano speared a pot sticker. "I know about everything."

Kenshin stared at him wondering if they were even having the same conversation.

Sano…"

The cell phone on the edge of the table vibrated a second time, blinking blue letters that Kenshin couldn't really read from his angle but Sano swallowed and hastily turned it off.

"Girlfriend?"

Sano snorted. "_Ha_. That's rich coming from _you_."

Kenshin set his chopsticks down and frowned severely at him. "Sano. I have no idea what you are talking about. I am not sure if I appreciate your comments about my current lack of love life so you may either clarify or drop this subject, because I need to eat before my next meeting and you're speaking _nonsense_."

"I know all about _her_." And Sano emphasized the 'her' as if expected that one word to explain everything.

Kenshin blinked, completely lost. "I'm sorry?"

Sano nodded. "I know. You've been trying to keep it a secret and if I didn't know you two any better… and it's not like you can claim that you're not each other's type because that is totally _a lie. _I just want to know where you met… I was going to introduce you but then when I realized…"

"Realized what?"

Sano gave him a highly disapproving look. "Listen, Kenshin we're friends but I've been friends with her longer and if you're ashamed because of the fact that she can beat you up, then I won't wait for her to do it, I'll beat you bloody."

Kenshin blinked. "Wait, you think I'm _dating_ someone?"

"I _know_ about the _sex_."

Before Kenshin could find a logical and reasonable way of dealing with that tidbit – even though the conversation had gone far, far away from either logical or reasonable – the doors to the conference room slammed open, bouncing into the wall with enough force to leave deep gouges in the walls.

Sano paled.

Kenshin dropped his chopsticks.

He barely noticed more than her eyes but they were _livid _and veryblue. She hardly spared him a glance, slamming her hands down onto the table and leaning forward until her nose was almost touching Sano's, her breath coming in heaves.

"I will _gut you_ with a pair of _tongs_."

"Now Kaoru, there is no need for violence…"

She reached out, fisted her hand in his shirt and shook him. "I have told you, _repeatedly_, that I am not having an _affair_ with a _stranger_!"

Sano tossed him a desperate 'save me' look. "But Kenshin isn't a stranger!"

Kenshin was certain his mouth was hanging open but he couldn't find the will to close it when her eyes flickered in his direction and seared him to the chair.

"Who is _that_?"

Now Sano looked upset, chest puffing up as he straightened his spine and seemed to momentarily not care that her hand was so close to his jugular. "Don't ask me that. I know. I've been telling both of you for months! I know all about the sex!"

Her head snapped back around and she bodily hauled him forward. Kenshin found his eyes sliding over to study the way her shoulders shifted and rolled as she verbally berated Sano and slid even lower to the seat of her jeans.

"There is no sex! I am not sleeping with anyone. There is no mystery man!"

"Because your mystery man is KENSHIN."

"Who the hell is _Kenshin_?"

The words were snarled out of locked teeth and the fists in Sano's shirt were turning white with strain. Sano did seem to realize that the girl in front of him was incandescent with rage and frowned severely at her.

"Kenshin." And just to make his point clear he pointed. Kenshin wasn't sure if the zing that went from his spine to his gut was from fear, adrenaline or a healthy dose of lust as those hot, hot eyes stared at him with a mixture of _disbelief_ and a pissed off rage like he hadn't seen since Megumi tried to kill Sano with a skillet.

"It's okay, Kaoru." Sano said in a soothing tone. "I know all about it. I'm not mad."

Kaoru let go of his shirt, took a step back and slowly straightened her spine until she was staring at Sano with a flat, furious look that finally seemed to penetrate Sano's thick skull. He blinked and leaned back in his chair suddenly nervous.

"Sano."

"Yes, Kaoru."

"I have never seen that man in my life."

Sano blinked. "But…"

Her weight shifted and his teeth clicked shut. "I have never seen him, touched him or even _considered_ having sex with the _short_ _redhead_ sitting right _there_."

She pointed, as if getting the point across and Kenshin straightened his own posture, eyes narrowing at her pointed description of him.

"But…"

"_No_." She snarled it out, reached over and picked Kenshin's precious orange beef and flung it at his head. Sano yelped when it crashed into his face, sending both him and the left over orange beef to the floor. Spearing Kenshin with another furious accusing glare she spun on her heel and stomped out the door, snarling expletives under her breath the entire time.

Kenshin gave himself a few seconds to savor the scene in his mind before leaning over to the stunned looking Sano with beef dripping down his face.

"I'll call in another order and cancel my afternoon meetings. You're going to tell me _everything_. Start with her last name."

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_**Please comment.**_


	11. Return

Complete 100% WAFF alert here.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.

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Kaoru kicked the vacuum and then grabbed her foot, swearing at the pain in her bare toes. Growling, she reached up with one hand and rubbed her eyes. This wasn't the way it was supposed to go. There wasn't supposed to be this much _stress_! This was why she had wanted to stay single; avoiding the pressure of a family. Dropping the end of the handle of the machine that refused to work, Kaoru stomped her way across the apartment, ignoring the fact that her downstairs neighbors probably hated her and walked into the bathroom. Flopping down onto the lid of the commode and she glared at the man in the shower.

"The vacuum broke!" Kaoru declared fiercely, crossing her arms. There was only the sound of the water hitting the wall for a moment and then Kenshin peaked around the curtain, his damp hair clinging to his cheekbones and neck.

"What?"

"The vacuum stopped working. The fish they gave us for our wedding died last week. Sano ate the lasagna you made last night for tonight's dinner and now we don't have anything to feed your parents." Kaoru gave him a frustrated look. "They're going to be here in an hour! You," her voice was accusing, "are in the shower."

Her husband's violet eyes watched her from behind dripping bangs. "You're nervous."

Kaoru pursed her lips together. "I am not. It's the first time they are going to see us since the wedding and nothing is going right. I'm _frustrated_!"

A dark brow inched its way upwards.

"You're nervous." He repeated. When his wife's features didn't move he shook his head. Reaching upwards, he wound his hair into a coil, ringing as much of the water out as he could. The last thing he needed was Kaoru letting him have it because he had made a mess on the floor, never mind that there were two showers and his parents would never see the inside of this one. Pulling back the curtain, and shivering at the cold air, Kenshin stepped out of the shower.

Kaoru's eyes were wide as he moved forward.

"My parents love you," he reminded her before reaching down and picking her up, ignoring the way she spluttered his name before he set her directly under the facet. The way she shrieked was faintly amusing, but he ignored it in favor of stepping in after her, closing the curtain in the hopes of keeping some of the hot air in the little shower area.

"You," he told her as he pulled the bottom of her shirt up to her chin, waiting until she finally lifted her arms to help before he pulled it off her head and tossed it out of the shower carelessly. "Are being silly."

Kenshin paused to admire the way her bra turned sheer under the warm spray. Kaoru swore at her husband, unzipping her jeans and leaning against him as she attempted to keep her balance.

"I just want things to turn out all right." She confessed, leaning against him with a sigh. She rolled her eyes when Kenshin unsnapped her bra while she shoved her panties down before kicking them off the end of one foot out the curtain. "You realize that all my clothes just made a really big mess?"

"Honey," Kenshin scolded, shifting them so the spray of hot water hit them both. "Shut up."

He grinned faintly at the utterly furious look she shot him.

"I already talked to my mother and she was okay with the idea of ordering out tonight. I can remake the lasagna for tomorrow." When her features remained grumpy, Kenshin leaned down and kissed her nose. "I'll fix the vacuum when we finish here, okay?"

Kaoru kept her stubborn expression for a moment before she allowed her shoulders to slump.

"Alright." Sighing she rose up to kiss his jaw. "Thank you."

Before she could slide back down his body and reach for the shampoo, he tilted his head and caught her mouth with his, his hands settling on her hips. Kaoru opened her mouth willingly, her back hitting the steam slick tile on the wall.

Kaoru relaxed against him, enjoying the press of his skin against hers and the way his mouth moved. Threading her fingers into his hair she allowed him to hold her up as she pressed against him, shifting so that her breasts rubbed against the muscles of his chest. He groaned, sliding a hand down her hip to settle against the curve of her bottom. As her heels left the floor she stiffened, pulling away from his mouth to stare at the door of the bathroom with a growing horror.

"Was that the doorbell?"

Kenshin paused and sighed, his breath ghosting across her ear. "Yes."

Kaoru whipped her head around and stared at him. "Kenshin… are your parents outside our door… right this instance? Without the floor being vacuumed and the dishes in the sink and your shirt across the back of the couch and the load of jeans that you needed for work still across the chair and…." The look he gave had her teeth clicking shut. Her eyes were wide with panic and the way her fingers were twisting almost violently in his hair as the doorbell rang again had him wincing.

"Kaoru… I'll get dressed and see who it is, alright?"

"The apartment is a mess." Kaoru managed her voice high and panicked.

"I'll even clean the apartment before I open the door."

"But…"

"_Kaoru_."

She shut up because he had only used that tone on her a handful of times before. Biting her lower lip hard enough it sting, she continued to watch him. The loud noise of the doorbell broke into their moment and he kissed her nose.

"Trust me."

Then he was gone, leaving her alone in the hot water.

X

Kenshin opened the door, a towel between his damp hair and his shirt. His mother lifted a brow and then smiled, her blue eyes dancing. "Did we interrupt something?"

"I had just finished. Kaoru is still washing her hair." He kissed his mother on the cheek after he had hugged her and accepted his father's handshake. Kenshin eyed his father and sighed mentally. His hair was greyer than at the wedding. He held his tongue though, waving them inside.

"I have until she gets out to finish cleaning things up. Mother, do not touch those clothes. Kaoru will murder me."

Aimi snorted at her son, folding the jeans neatly. "Go and do the dishes, Kenshin. You father can finish vacuuming."

"It's broke," Kenshin said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Kaoru probably sucked up the cat's yarn again." He paused and looked around, searching for Moto, Kaoru's fat tabby. "Who I think is hiding under the bed." The sound of the pipes groaning as they turned off had Kenshin shifting into a flurry of activities.

By the time a pink faced Kaoru came out of the bedroom, dressed in a different pair of jeans and a red sweater, he had finished cleaning and was pouring ice-tea into several glasses. Aimi and Katashi stood and Kenshin hid a smile at his wife's uncertain features as she was pulled into hugs and several kisses, firmly planted on the couch, the re-emerged cat settled into her lap and a barrage of questions. The fact that Kaoru was an orphan had always endeared his mother to her and it wouldn't surprise Kenshin in the least if there were several presents for his easily startled wife in their suitcases.

"So," Kenshin questioned as he set the tray down on the table, settling next to Kaoru easily, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Have you decided where you want to eat?"

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Please Comment!


	12. Borrow

This is the start of a series of rather crack-tastic college-verse ficlets. So expect to see more in this universe in the future. =)

As always, I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

Ravyn

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Kaoru's head hurt. She wished that she had her normal bout of morning amnesia – her first roommate had once woken to shrieking until she remembered where she was – but this morning she remembered all too clearly where she was. The fact that she had somehow ended up in Megumi's boyfriend's bed in the _jock dorm_, well, that just spoke of all the reasons why she refused to take flu medicine. Except her med-student roommate had vetoed her idea and shoved it down her throat anyway. She was pretty sure that Sano had carried her up the stairs and put her to bed so she could sleep off the drugs but…

Sano.

Sheets.

Oh gods.

She was jerked out of her growing horror by someone pounding on the door.

"Sano! Time to get up you lug! You're going to be late for your first class."

The voice was male and somewhere between a tenor and a baritone and something she vaguely recognized as she twisted in Sano's sheets and stared at the alarm clock on the floor. Kaoru's eyes widened and she felt a noise that sounded like horror constrict from her throat when she realized the time. _Late_. She was really, _really late_. If it could be trusted she had slept through half of Art History and was going to miss her Calculus class if she didn't _haul ass_.

"I'm hitting the shower so this is your last warning," the male outside the door continued. "If Megumi is in there, tell her she's late for anatomy."

Kaoru rolled out of the bed and immediately regretted it as her head started to swim and the full body ache she hadn't quite noticed jumped up and threatened to knock her flat. Rubbing her temples and wondering how it was possible to feel so terrible, she looked around bleary eyed for her sweater. It was late fall and starting to turn cold and while she still had her clothing on from the night before, the hooded sweater she had worn was missing. Swearing when she couldn't find it, she bounced on her toes trying to remember where she had peeled it off.

She felt uncomfortably warm, but decided that was from the hot and cold chills she had been sporting for the past few days. As long as she didn't start coughing she should manage to keep from getting scolded by her roommate. Maybe. But if she went outside without some protection she was going to end up on the wrong side of Megumi's temper and she just didn't feel up to it.

The only thing stopping her from falling back into bed was that this was _Sano's bed_, with Sano's _sheets_ and she already felt dirty. Unfortunately, her sweater was gone and nothing in Sano's room was going to fit her. The man was just too tall and too broad. Kaoru stepped around what size of the apartment that was kept aside for the athletes. She sighed at how much nicer it was than the cramped little tin box she and Megumi shared, and then sprinted to the second door in the hall. Taking a deep breath, and promising that she could find something worthy to black mail Megumi into bringing back, she opened the door and then blinked in surprise at how clean the room was.

However, it was the dark green hooded sweater on the chair that caught her attention. Hearing the pipes turn off, and remembering that all her books were back at her apartment, Kaoru wrenched it off the chair, apologized to the man who it belonged to and bolted to the door were her tennis shoes were. Not even bothering to tie her laces she unlocked the door, stepped into the hall, pull the sweater over her head, ignored the drowsy athletes exiting the building, and sprinted down the sidewalk that would take her across campus to her own room.

'_I think I prefer coffee as a wakeup call than a mad dash_,' Kaoru thought as she dodged fellow students. She almost took out a boy on roller-skates, calling an apology over her shoulder as she moved. '_I am soooo late_!'

* * *

Kaoru sat down on her lunch table and dropped her head onto her arm. She was just lucky that today was Megumi's lab day or she would be getting the lecture of her _life_. She had stumbled into Calc and realized she had forgotten her homework and sat through her Ancient History class with a blank expression on her face and the pen still in her backpack.

She felt _horrible_.

The faint buzz of conversation around her as she sat in class had been faintly interesting, something involving a kendo player or some other, but she hadn't quite caught what was being said. Now she was trying to ignore the pasta salad she had bought for lunch in the cafeteria because she didn't want to risk going back to the apartment. She felt a little guilty because the five that paid for her lunch had been in the sweater (and subsequently, not hers) but she just felt too bad to feel guilty enough _not_ to use it. She had wanted a bowl of soup but all they had was tortilla and something that rich with spices had made her stomach roll; so instead she had bland noodles. Better for her queasy stomach but bad for her taste buds.

She was half-dozing when the sound of chairs scrapping around her had her reluctantly lifting her head to find herself looking at three men who looked vaguely familiar. There was a redhead with a ready smile, tucking into what looked like chicken and dumplings while the other two had something richly spiced that had her stomach rolling so that she put her face back in her arms in an attempt to curb the sudden nausea.

"Hey Lady!" the voice to her right drawled out. "You should eat that before it gets cold."

The scraping noise as someone kicked someone else had her lifting her head to watch them over the ridge of the green sweater.

"She is eating a _cold_ _salad_, idiot. Did Himura hit you too many times in the head with his bokken?"

The redhead rolled his eyes.

"I didn't spar with Cho today." He remarked as he reached for the salt shaker to add flavor to the food in front of him.

"Are you feeling alright?" The one named Cho asked while peering at her, or what he could see of her face as she stared at him with glazed eyes. "Hey, I think the little lady is sick."

"Obviously the freshmen these days don't know how to care for their sick girlfriends," the man on her right said in disgust. "What do you think Himura? I always take my significant other home for soup in bed and sympathy. They always say thank you in a wonderful way!"

"Kamatari, we do not need your fantasies of playing nurse," Cho growled out.

The redhead looked over at her with concern on his features. "Are you alright?"

Kaoru shut her eyes to block them out and concentrated on taking deep breaths until she could breathe without her chest hurting. She yelped when someone poked her in the forehead, snapping her eyes open and glaring at where the finger had been.

"Shit, she's burning up. Hey, miss? Can we take you the nurse?"

Nurse… Megumi! Megumi was going to be getting out of class soon. Kaoru jerked up, cracking her head against the man leaning over so that she saw stars for a moment, sitting heavily in the chair and holding her forehead with a groan.

"Damn," someone moaned. "She has a thick skull."

Kaoru opened her lashes and saw the body of the man across the table moving around. Shaking her head, Kaoru reached down and grabbed her back pack. "I gotta go! Sorry about your head!"

She took a step away, waited for the floor to stop spinning and then fled, clutching her pack against her chest.

"Hey! That's _your_ sweater!"

Kaoru twisted out the cafeteria doors and took off around to the other side of the building so she could start the sprint to her apartment. She thought she heard someone shouting at _someone_ but she didn't slow as she ducked into the swarming crowd of students being let out of class.

By the time she got to the apartment building that was stuck on the far edge of campus she was coughing so hard her eyes were watering. '_No more sprinting_.' Kaoru promised herself. The apartment was dark so she assumed that Megumi was still in lab. Shutting the door behind her Kaoru peeled the sweater from her back and walked to her closet, throwing it on top of her dirty clothes pile, ignoring the clank of spare coins. Kicking off her shoes she dropped onto the futon she had been forced to buy after her ex-roommate caught her mattress on fire. Unfortunately, her on-campus job didn't quite pay enough to replace the mattress so the futon was the best she could do. Instead of crawling under the sheets Kaoru sort of rolled herself until she was wrapped in a cocoon.

The sound of the front door opening and closing caught her fogged brains attention.

"Kaoru! You forgot to lock the door again!"

There was an edge to her voice that said classes were stressing her out and/or Sano hadn't done such a good job of relaxing her the night before. Considering the fact that Sano hadn't come home to kick her out his bed last night, Kaoru was betting on option two.

"Kaoru what…" Megumi's words died as Kaoru rolled onto her back and opened blurry eyes. Megumi had a disapproving look on her face. "You let Sano drive you home this morning, right? I stole your sweater so you would have to ask someone. If you walked across campus in this weather without any sort of coat…"

"You're very loud," Kaoru managed to rasp out. "I have a very bad headache. I am going to pass out now, if you don't mind."

"I knew we should have called Kenshin and had him bring you back!" Megumi fumed. "They're supposed to be coming over tonight to study but I will try to rearrange it…" Megumi's voice died off as she shut the door and Kaoru sank into her dark room with a groan.

X

"… your sweater?" Megumi's voice woke her some unknown amount of time later. "I have no idea… why?"

There was a rumble of noise that Kaoru couldn't quite hear.

"What do you mean she was in the cafeteria eating? She didn't have her wallet or her ID!" Megumi's voice rose in pitch. "What do you _mean_ she wasn't there when you got back?"

Sano's smooth baritone had her pulling the blanket over her head so she couldn't hear the rest of the conversation, muffling her coughs in the blanket until she could breathe without setting her chest off. She heard her door open and pressed her face deeper into the covers when the light flicked on.

"So help me Sano, if you wake her over a sweater I think I will kill you!"

"You have to admit it's funny as hell. She would have had to have snuck into his room and everything," Sano replied, his voice muffled as he obviously attempted to keep from laughing. "He was so embarrassed when I caught him at lunch. The boys were giving him hell over not knowing his own girlfriend."

Kaoru peeled her lashes back. The light was bright but thankfully the flannel of her sheets kept most of it out. Letting out a low groan, she slowly pulled the sheets away from her face. The image of Sano pausing where his hand was stuck on her closet door handle, his features froze in surprise, would have been comical at any other time. Now, she just wanted to kill him.

"Sano," Kaoru croaked out, "what the hell are you doing?" She punctuated the words with several painful coughs and wiped her eyes.

"Um…." Sano tried, giving Megumi's red face a nervous glance. "Looking for a sweater?"

Kaoru pointed to the door, wheezing through a coughing fit. Now that she was awake her chest was _complaining_.

"I'll go and make you some tea to sooth that cough," Megumi offered, pushing Sano out of the bedroom. "Sano was _jus_t leaving."

When they were gone Kaoru unrolled herself and opened her closet door. Pulling the sweater out of the laundry basket she lifted one corner of the futon and shoved it underneath before collapsing back onto it and sighing. It was going to be a long night.

X

Kaoru pulled the blankets up to her chin and gave Megumi a meek look. "I promise to be a good girl and to stay inside." She eyed her friend and smiled. "You look fantastic."

The last few days had been a blur of coughing and Megumi force feeding her medication, which in turn sent her back into a coma like state. She had the vague notion that it was Friday and that she had fallen sick on Monday. Kaoru was so far behind in her classes that she felt a little sick just thinking about her. Whatever life she had was gone until she managed to get caught up.

Megumi gave her a small, pleased smile before tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Sano said to dress up, it's some sports banquet. His roommate is supposed to be going as well and I get to act as a date for both of them. Apparently Kenshin's new girlfriend, who I _still haven't met_ has the flu so he isn't taking her," Megumi's eyes narrowed as she considered Kaoru. "Do you even remember him?'

"Who?" Kaoru asked, blinking at her friend and adjusting her grip on the DVD player remote. She had been confined to the couch but Megumi had been kind enough to rent her a few movies for the occasion.

"Kenshin Himura," Megumi stressed. "The man who woke you up the morning you stayed at Sano's? The one who stayed here two nights ago and kept an eye on you while I studied for my genetics test?"

Kaoru blinked at her dumbly. "You had a genetics test?" She frowned. "You let someone else watch me while I had the flu?"

"The kendo team all received flu shots," Megumi returned. "Apparently, Sano didn't wash his sheets before sleeping in them after you and got a milder version of the bug you had. Thankfully he is feeling much better but he would be taking me to the banquet anyway."

She sounded faintly vengeful so Kaoru simply nodded. Never show fear.

"Right. I won't be back until late so don't wait up," Megumi ordered. Kaoru gave a salute and watched as Megumi put on her jacket and picked up her purse. Opening the door she paused for a moment, considering Kaoru for a long moment.

"By the way," she tossed out as she shut the door. "Kenshin wants his sweater back."

The door shut with a click.

His sweater? _What_ sweater? She had someone's sweater? Frowning Kaoru tried to put a sweater with a face and when that didn't work, started back tracking. The crazy day that had been Monday swam into memory fuzzily and Kaoru groaned as she remembered exactly what sweater Megumi was talking about.

She owed this mysterious person five bucks to boot.

Kaoru was halfway through a movie involving Christian Bale and dragons when a knock sounded on the door. Looking at the clock, Kaoru considered ignoring the noise. When the knock continued to rap persistently she kicked back the covers with a groan and made sure she was decent. With her dancing penguin pjs on, she was covered from her collar bones all the way to her fuzzy socks. Shrugging, and a little thankful she had showered that afternoon, she unlocked the door.

Kaoru recognized the man standing outside her door but she couldn't place where she had seen him. His red hair was pulled into a neat tail and he wore a dark pair of slacks, dress shirt, and tie. Granted, he had loosened the tie so it hung in a casual loop around his neck, but he looked like he had either a made a wrong turn or belonged at a banquet. Banquet! Megumi was at a banquet!

"Are you looking for Megumi?"

The man smiled at her, showing off a dimple in his left cheek. "No, actually, I wasn't." He lifted a brow. "Do you think I can come in?"

Kaoru's eye brows bunched together. "I am not in the habit of letting strange men into my apartment." The fact that he was the most attractive man she had seen in a while had nothing to do with it, neither did the fact that he kept looking down at her pajamas in what appeared to be amusement. No one mocked the dancing penguins. They had been a gift from her father!

"I'm Kenshin," he offered with a smile. "Sano's roommate?"

Kaoru blinked before his words registered. "Oh," she managed. She eyed him for a moment, blinking when he lifted his hands as if showing her that he didn't have any weapons, Kaoru shuffled aside to let him in. "If you're not here for Megumi, I can honestly say I have no idea why you _are_ here."

"Megumi said you had my sweater and I was passing back through on my way to the apartment and I thought I would check," Kenshin replied easily, taking in the paused movie and nest of blankets. "I take it you're feeling better?"

Kaoru blinked and flushed. "Oh, yeah. Megumi said you took care of me the other day. Thanks."

Kenshin gave a slight shrug and smiled again. "It wasn't a big deal, I felt bad for waking you that morning. Megumi attempted to explain things but she got a little jumbled."

"Right, your sweater. Terrible sorry about that too." Kaoru turned so she could stop blushing and headed into her bedroom. It took some searching to remember what she had done with it and she came back out looking a little disturbed.

"I think I borrowed five dollars too," she informed him in apologetic voice. "If I blamed the drugs, is there a chance you would believe me?"

"I try not to accuse pretty girls of lying," Kenshin replied. Kaoru gave him a funny look and tried not to fidget as he held his sweater, watching her.

"Um… did you need something else?"

"What are you doing next Wednesday?"

"Wednesday?" Kaoru managed, trying to think ahead of stuff. "Probably just homework in an attempt to catch up with what I missed this week."

"How about I take you out for dinner as a homework break," Kenshin offered.

"Huh?" Kaoru managed.

Kenshin slipped a hand in his pocket and smiled. "Wednesday. Dinner. You and me? My treat?"

"But I owe _you_ five dollars," Kaoru pointed out, still sounding confused.

"Consider that our first date then," Kenshin offered. "I was there that afternoon although I am pretty sure you don't remember much of that meal…" at her blank expression he grinned. "So is that a yes?"

"I suppose," Kaoru managed, still looking perplexed. "You are aware that you don't have to ask me out, right?"

Kenshin shook his head and kept his smile. "You should probably get some sleep," he commented. "I should go. I'll pick you up at five, alright?"

Kaoru nodded, walking him to the door, her expression baffled. Kenshin picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles with a wink, cheerfully whistling as he stepped into the wind, his sweater tossed over his shoulder.

"That," Kaoru muttered, "was odd."

But apparently she had a date on Wednesday.

* * *

_**Please Comment**_


	13. Torn

Hope you enjoy!

Ravyn

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.

* * *

He was watching her again.

Swirling the wine in her glass, she snapped her fan open with a graceful flick of her wrist. She didn't turn to look at the throne or the strange, bright haired Sidhe the king was keeping near him the way a few of the ladies kept those strange, stripped cats as pets. There was something innately dangerous about the man, something in the way his bones and muscles were shaped; his movement's liquid and smooth instead of the slow and deliberate.

She wondered how well he used the sword strapped along his spine.

Cutting her eyes across the room she met the gaze of her cousin. The troubled expression she found there forced Kaoru to bit the side of her tongue to stifle her curses. So he wasn't bothering to hide the blatant way he was watching her. Handing her glass off to a bus boy, she set about integrating herself into the crowd. Her connections to the throne were loose enough that she could slip away without the court particularly caring. While his starring was troubling, she didn't _think_ he was familiar enough with their customs to speak to the King about the possibility of her company.

If he had, then it was just a matter of avoiding the messengers. It wouldn't be the first time she had skittered around the edges of the King's awareness and she sincerely doubted it would be the last. She kept half an eye on Misao, who was acting as her lookout – so when she jerked a little, fan flaring out in warning Kaoru quickened her pace. It took just a moment to glide between skirts and bodies, smiling easily and twisting her fan in greeting.

She paused for just a moment as she slide into the empty halls, gathering her skirts into her hand to move – ladies _did not run_ – quickly down the hall when fingers hot enough to brand slide around her wrist. She knew who it was before she turned. Neither a messenger nor someone from the court would have dared breach protocol to touch her without explicit permission. Allowing him to turn her around, she kept her expression blank – it was a struggle to hold when she realized how close he was.

His eyes weren't the true copper as she had originally thought, but a strange mix of gold and bronze that didn't quite blend. The colors were distinct and separate, twisting around his pupil. This close she could smell his skin – embers and something spicy – and his eyelashes were beautiful.

She considered bringing her fan down on his wrist – the spine of it was lined in bone – but it had been a gift and she refused to waste something so beautiful on a man like this without having to.

She would not break the silence.

The edges of his rather thin lips curled. "Running away?"

She worked to keep her expression cool. "I beg your pardon?"

His thumb slid along the veins in her wrist and she tightened her grip on her fan. His fingers were clawed and they looked sharp. She did not appreciate the silent threat.

"You're leaving."

She tried for innocence and used her lashes to shield her eyes. "It grows late."

Those ridiculously long lashes veiled _his_ eyes and when he looked back up they were white hot. Snapping her fan closed – he could let go of her wrist, _now_ – she shifted away from him in a silent demand to release her.

"I asked the king to speak to you."

She tilted her chin. "I did not receive such a message."

That smile sharpened. "You are hearing it now."

Lifting her fan, she settled it on his wrist, applying just enough pressure to convey her message. His eyes glittered and he did not let go.

"You're being rude."

"You're being obtuse." He returned lightly.

"Surely any message you wish to convey can wait until it can be done through the proper channels." Kaoru continued, tapping his wrist above a precise bundle of nerves so his fingers went lax and she was able to escape his hold. Burying her wrist into her skirts, she lowered her eyes and dipped into a proper, precise curtsy.

When she glanced back up at him his expression had shifted. It was sharp, angled at the cheekbones and jaw in a way that made her stomach lurch.

"Tomorrow is the new moon, Lady Kamiya."

She watched him turn and enter the busy ballroom. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she swallowed several times. The great hunting cats preferred the new moon to catch their prey. He knew her name. Flicking her fan open to hide the way her mouth trembled, she stood there for several long moments, catching her breath.

* * *

_**Please Comment!**_


	14. Beach

Couple of quick notes about this drabble:

It jumps around between the past and present. I separated everything with dividers but refuse to put "flashback" or something else equally ridiculous to show exactly which part is the past and future. Let's hope it's not too confusing.

When I originally posted this, several people wanted to know if Kaoru was committing suicide. I would like to say now, up front, that is not the intention of this drabble. Kenshin = Siren/Nymph like character who cheats and Kaoru has a connection to the ocean that gets her into trouble.

Ravyn

* * *

Leaning into her the side of the phone booth, her breath coming in short, excited bursts, Kaoru twisted the cord around her fingers as she waited for someone to pick up the phone. The adrenaline didn't fade as the answering machine kicked on and her first few words were shaky and rushed.

"Hey Misao!" Clearing her throat, she tried again. "Hey, I'm… away for the weekend. I know I promised that I would go to the movies with you, but I had something come up. I left the key in the same place. Please check on my fish."

Hanging up the phone, she stared at trembling hands and bit her lip, telling herself to calm down.

There was always the chance he wouldn't remember her anyway.

X

Sudden air was a shock to her lungs as the sea threatened to pull her under again. Something was holding her up in the water, something cool and sold against her chest and fingers as she continued to gag up seawater. Some part of her brain was horrified. She was a strong swimmer, she knew how to avoid heavy undertow, and yet the water pulled her _down_, _down_, and _down_… an old friend's embrace.

The world shifted again, this time abrupt and forceful, her skin cold with the chill in the air as she was pulled from the warm invitation of the ocean. The soft siren song to sink deep, heavy, and…

She was dropped heavily onto the earth and her eyes flew open. A man was standing over her. His hair was a dark, deep wet and fell over bare shoulders – nearly to his navel. Curiously mauve eyes watched her moodily, the faintest hint of yellow around his iris.

"Her victims are normally not so willing," he said finally. He shifted his weight and Kaoru felt herself flushing uncomfortably as she realized this man was completely naked.

"Humans are born of fire and know nothing of the water. Who are you to call on her?"

X

"To thin," the old woman muttered in broken English. "Too cold." To emphasize her words, she wrapped her arms around her rather full middle and shivered. "Need man."

"No," Kaoru said softly as the little old woman fussed with the light blanket on the bed. "That will be fine."

Smiling brightly, Kaoru fished a few bills from her pocket and pressed them into wrinkled hands.

"Thank you."

Shrewd eyes studied her for a moment before she reached up and patted her cheek. Seeming content now, she bustled from the room, her wide hips swinging to some internal rhythm.

Taking a deep breath, Kaoru pulled back the gauzy material that covered the window and stared at the crush of the ocean. There were too many bodies on those white beaches now. But tonight…

It would be her, the dark of the ocean and her dreams.

X

Somehow, the conversation had gone downhill. His demanding question – _who the hell_ was he anyway – had ended up with her sprawled out in the cold sand in front of him, his knees pressed against her ribs. He didn't seem at all concerned with her discomfort. She desperately tried to think of anything other than his nakedness. She still wasn't sure why she had let him manhandle her into the position anyway.

He was brushing her hair.

He had started by picking all the knots and snarls from her hair with a comb that looked suspiciously like it had been carved from bone; with little smooth bits of brightly colored shells or coral pressed into the top. Now he was brushing it, smooth strokes that started at her scalp and work through the length of her hair. She wasn't relaxing, per se, but she wasn't so jittery that she felt like she was going to shake apart either.

Allowing her eyes to trail back to the ocean, she watched the waves as they crashed against the earth, pulling everything it could back into its depths. There was something so lulling and beautiful, that it took a sharp tug on her scalp before she realized she had matched her breathing to it.

Fingers trailed down her spine in an alarming fashion.

"This isn't the first time that she has called you."

Kaoru twisted, so that her elbow rested against his shin.

"You keep saying that."

A slight breeze tickled her face with the strands of his hair, but she didn't look away.

"She only lets you go once and yet… here you are."

Frowning, Kaoru reached down to push herself up off him. Part of her was scandalized that she had even let him touch her, regardless of how water logged and drained she was. He said nothing as she sat up and glared at him, just watched her from those curiously light eyes.

"I have no idea of what you are talking about."

The edges of his mouth curved. "Yet here you are…" he repeated, tone thoughtful. "I wonder…"

X

Dinner was exhausting. There were so many people. Crowding, pushing, and sucking the scent of the ocean in their lungs to be exhaled like smoke and the heat of breath. She barely tasted her food, distracted by the siren song only she seemed to hear.

Pushing her half-eaten plate away from her fork, she dug around until she found the appropriate monetary sum and carefully set it down. Standing to lift her purse, she left the diner and headed back to her room. She had the urge to take a hot shower.

It was a struggle to think about hot water and soap, her mind being tugged at by the melodious music that the breeze brought her of the open water. She was so close. Wouldn't she care to join them. Shivering, she walked into her room and locked herself in the shower.

There were still too many people.

X

"It is dawn now," he told her, his eyes tracing her features. "You are safe for the moment."

She tiled her chin, eyes flashing as he too stood. His hair was dry now, sliding around his form as the wind teased it; whispering over pale skin and muscle. The early morning sun turned the dark strands to fire. Ignoring the clenching her gut, she turned away from him. Questions she wished to ask burned on her tongue. She dared not.

Fingers curled strongly in her tumbling hair. Her body turned as his hand directed. Almost cold breath ghosted across her lips. His free hand suddenly curved along her jaw, fingers surprisingly rough.

"Once you taste the ocean," he told her. "It never lets you go."

He smelled of sea salt and the wind. He tasted of something else entirely. She had but a moments shock to register the sensation of flesh on flesh, his shoulder blade and spine under her grasping fingers, tangled in his long hair. Her toes curling in the sand. As his tongue invaded her mouth, a roaring filled her ears. The crashing of waves against violent rocks; the endless buoyancy of water; twisting and turning and sinking as she filled all sight and sound and sensation in cold, welcoming darkness.

A whisper in her ear, lips curved against skin, blinking past the darkness behind her eyes.

"That is why she will keep you."

X

Her eyes scanned the ocean, her fingers dragging through the grains as she watched the way the ocean slid on and off the wet beach. It was pounding in her blood again, except this time; she wasn't willing to step into its embrace for a swim; willing to be caught up in her waters.

Closing her eyes tightly, she wondered if she would ever be able to deny the heady call. Pushing to her feet, Kaoru walked to the waters edges and let it wash over her toes. Tilting her head back to the moon, she allowed some of the tension of the day to ease from her shoulders.

She could live with these quiet moments.

Opening her eyes, she glanced across the waters once more and her breath caught in her throat. He was standing waist deep in the water, his hair as wet and tangled as she remembered it. His eyes looked dark in the moonlight, fingers splayed on top of the water.

The edges of lips curved slightly.

Water tugged at her calves in invitation.

Swallowing, she took a step forward.

* * *

_**Please Comment**_


	15. Cheat

Part Two of the Mob Series, following Chapter Nine Cold.

Disclaimer: Some serious crack!

Ravyn

* * *

Kaoru woke up to what sounded like an alarm clock. Reaching over blurrily with her left hand she swatted at the top of the machine repeatedly until the noise stopped. Pressing her face back into the clean smelling pillow case, she groaned low in her throat. Her eyes felt scratchy and there was a dull pounding in her temples that said she hadn't gotten enough sleep.

It was while she was slowly forcing herself to be more alert that she realized that her alarm clock didn't make the ungodly noise she had cut off. Lifting her head, Kaoru blinked her eyes several times and took in the blue walls, cream carpet, and several potted plants precariously set around the room. She didn't have potted plants in her apartment. She never had time to care for them properly and didn't have enough sunlight to let them grow. Sitting up fully, she blinked at the clock on her nightstand.

1:30. P.M.

_'That's right,'_ Kaoru thought as she slid her feet out from under the covers to touch the floor. Her toes curled into the lush carpet. '_Sano showed up, his friend used your shower, you were shot at and now you are at the safe house with two_ _men_.' And it was 1:30 in the afternoon. How late had it been when they had gotten back to the house? She attempted and failed to remember the ungodly red numbers glaring at her from the alarm clock on her nightstand, which meant that someone had brought it in and set it while she had been asleep.

'_Probably a good thing, because I need to get up.'_ Rubbing her eyes, she made a fast side stop in the bathroom and then headed into the hallway. It didn't take long for her to find the kitchen, the hall opened up into a sunken living room; separated from the kitchen only by a countertop. The furniture was in good care if slightly worn and there was a large TV in one corner, flanked with an impressive DVD collection. At the wide countertop that separated the living room there were tall barstools on the living room side; a table was tucked under a window on the far end of the kitchen. Kenshin and Sano were both in the kitchen and looked up at as she walked in.

Sano started laughing.

"Hey Kaoru, you look better in Kenshin's clothing than he does!" Sano teased. "I always knew Kenshin was girly but this takes the cake."

Kaoru looked down at her outfit and shrugged, offering Sano a polite hand gesture.

"Shove it, Sagara," Kaoru told him slightly miffed. "You're picking a war with a lady who hasn't had any caffeine."

"There is fresh coffee and bagels," Kenshin told her, his eyes crinkling in the corners with his smile. "I can make you some eggs if you would prefer."

"Bagels are fine," Kaoru groused as she moved over to the pot. "Cups?"

"Above you," Sano informed her, still sounding miffed. "We don't have any cream cheese so you are going to have to settle for jam."

Kaoru shrugged. She wasn't awake enough yet to be hungry but hopefully the coffee would wake her stomach enough she could enjoy the bagel. It didn't take long before she was glaring at the strawberry covered breakfast food and sipping her coffee.

"How long have you two been up?" She finally asked, looking up at the men.

"I haven't gone to sleep yet," Sano confided in her, picking up her bagel and taking a bite. Kaoru glared at him and pulled her plate closer to her body once he put it back. "I figure I can get another six hours before I slip into a coma." He informed her around the mouthful. Kaoru wrinkled her nose.

"Only a few hours," Kenshin told, looking up from the paper he was studying. "Did you sleep well?'

"Until the alarm clock went off," Kaoru groused, picking up the bagel Sano had chewed on, before shrugging and taking a smaller bite than the chunk Sano had torn. "I hate alarm clocks."

Sano made a noise.

"That is an understatement," before he could go on to embarrass her, he had enough stories in his arsenal that little else could possibly come out of his mouth, Kaoru reached over and stuffed as much of the chunk of bagel left into his large mouth.

"Sano," Kaoru said plainly. "Shut up."

Kenshin made a noise that might have been a laugh but when she cut her eyes in his direction his features were straight as he continued to study the paper like his life depended on it.

"Not nice," Sano managed to mumble around the food so Kaoru kicked him.

"I know you momma tried to get you not to talk with your mouthful," Kaoru scolded.

Sano finally swallowed. "Don't bring my momma into this!"

"So," Kenshin inserted, apparently sensing the brawl that was building. "There are a few things that we need to discuss. I am afraid we have put you into a bit of an uncomfortable situation, Kaoru."

Kaoru picked up her second half of the bagel and lifted a brow as she bit into it, glaring at Sano when he went to grab her coffee cup. She swallowed rapidly. "Touch the mug and die," Kaoru warned before turning back to Kenshin. "How uncomfortable are we talking?"

"What he means," Sano said with a sigh, eying her mug. "Is that you are probably going to be living with us. Which you may or may not appreciate once you find out the extent of our erratic lifestyles."

Kenshin smoothly took over when Sano paused for breath. "The police burned your apartment building down to hide whatever it was they took from your apartment. All your ID, your personal effects, anything of value, I am afraid went with it."

Kaoru shook her head. "Not really," she took another bite of the surprisingly good bagel and rolled her eyes at Sano's surprised features.

"I thought you would have at least been upset about your dad's swords," Sano informed her, his brow tucking in a puzzled line.

"I would be," Kaoru assured him. "If they had been at my apartment."

Sano blinked and then grinned, his face suddenly very boyish. "You had a drop bag!"

"Yes indeed," Kaoru commented with an eye roll. At the way Kenshin had lifted a brow she hurried to explain. "I didn't trust this idiot to stay out of trouble and I really didn't trust him to manage to keep _me_ out of it. It seems I was right," Kaoru finished loudly over Sano loud protests. "Anyway, I stored my ID, some clothing, cash, my dad swords and some knickknacks in a duffle bag. Everything is at the bus station lockers. I pay in cash every month under an assumed name."

"If your ID was in a bag then what were you carrying around with you," Sano questioned.

"The fake ones you had made for me six months ago," Kaoru reminded him. "I kept my head down and did my best not to get stopped. It worked." Her eyes swung back to Kenshin and she was surprised to find a warm flicker in his eyes that might have been admiration. "Anyway, I just have to go and get it."

"That is going to be one of the uncomfortable things." Kenshin told her softly. "Either your real name or the assumed name you have been living under will be reported to the police. You aren't a big problem, and possibly someone who just got caught up in the wrong crowd, but they will be looking for you. You're going to have to stay off the streets for the next few months."

"When you say stay off the streets… what do you mean?" Kaoru asked.

"It means you're going to be under house arrest until we can do something to make them forget about you," Sano said in an apologetic tone. "There are things to do here, there is a basement with mats and weights and things you are welcome to use; but you're probably going to be extremely bored."

Kaoru blinked at him for long moments before picking up her bagel plate and walking to the sink. While she rinsed it off she considered those words and sighed. The one thing guaranteed to make her go crazy; nothing to do put sit on the couch. At least there was the chance that she would manage to work out. Kenshin carried a sword so unless he did all his practicing away from the house then there was the chance the equipment to practice her kendo was available for her use.

"Kaoru," Kenshin's voice broke into her thoughts as she poured herself a second cup of coffee. She turned in surprise to see that Sano had left and that Kenshin was standing next to her.

"I'm sorry that you are going to be stuck here but it's really for the best."

Kaoru gave him a weak smile. "It's not really the idea of being here, Kenshin. I mean, I worry about Sano all the time and I suppose living where I can beat him over the head when he does something stupid instead of worrying if someone else is doing it properly is better than the other option. I just don't care to feel… helpless. Being stuck here for the next however much time it takes… _that's_ going to be what drives me crazy."

"I'm sorry," Kenshin apologized again. Kaoru looked up and was startled to realize exactly how close he was; she could see the different shades of gold in his eyes this close, the way the edges darkened into bronze. "How about I explain the ways things generally go here and you can decide if you want to switch things around."

Kaoru lifted a brow. "Why would I decide?"

"Because you are going to be spending the most time here," Kenshin explained patiently. "Most nights one or both of us will be missing, and daylight hours are generally spent as they are now. Sleeping, eating, and more sleeping; occasionally we find time do to other things but it depends on what we need to do during the week."

"Your job is on the top ten list of What I Want to Be When I Grow Up, isn't it?" Kaoru tried, stepping by him and attempting to ignore the way her stomach had butterflies or the gingery smell of him. She couldn't recall him smelling like that last night.

"At the very top," he agreed with a smile. He motioned her over to a desk against one of the walls, tucked partially behind a silk screen so you didn't see it right away.

"This computer has everything you need. If you click on this icon," he demonstrated, "you can type in the week's grocery list. These two symbols here are set up for the library and so on. I think about every store you need is available but if for some reason it's not and you need to order something offline, I will give you a credit card number to use."

Kaoru frowned. "You realize that I am going to be living in your house, eating your food, and doing absolutely nothing to support it?"

"I make more than enough doing what I do that you shouldn't have to worry about it," Kenshin told her, his voice firm. "Having you here to keep an eye on things will be more than enough repayment."

Kaoru lifted a brow. "I could be a chain smoker who likes big, filthy dogs and is prone to screaming fits at all hours of the night."

Kenshin chuckled and mused her hair so that she scowled at him. "Write down the number of that locker and the combination for the lock and it will be dropped off this evening." He lifted a brow and let his eyes scan the line of her body. "I can try to find you something else to wear if you like?"

Kaoru shook her head. "I would hate for you to have to give up more of your wardrobe. This is fine," Kaoru assured him, taking a step back in an attempt to straight her hair. "I have some clothing in the duffle bag."

"Write down your sizes," Kenshin suggested. "It won't be a problem to have someone go out and buy you some more clothing."

"That is more than enough money spent on me," Kaoru said, shaking her head. "Really. I have a week's worth in the duffle bag. That should hold me over since I am not doing anything strenuous."

Kenshin's expression suggested that he wasn't convinced but he didn't push her. Which she was thankful for, because she would have to have pushed back and she didn't really want to ruin what was starting out as a tentative friendship with her temper.

X

It didn't take her long to settle in.

There were only so many times that she could wake up to Kenshin stripping down naked in the foyer, covered in blood; fighting with a hung over Sano who hadn't quite managed to shower the scent of smoke and women from his skin, before she fell into a pattern and started to consider things her home. Kenshin was gone the most those first few weeks she was there and when she did see him it was as he said: he was either cooking some strange dish that ended up tasting good and then heading back to his room to sleep or he never appeared from his room. The only reason she knew he was home was because of the clothing.

Kaoru had finally figured out hand soap removed blood out of almost anything – including the carpet and if she had his clothing into the wash fast enough then the dark clothing was generally saved. Even with the hand soap remedy, she had taken to just putting down socks as part of her grocery list each week and just tossing the rest. Kenshin never said anything, just gave her a long look from those yellow eyes of his when he managed to come in for coffee. Occasionally he handed her a tip – such as hand soap removing blood – but otherwise left her to do as she pleased.

So Kaoru had decided to give herself projects. She had to argue with Sano and Kenshin for two weeks before they finally agreed to give her a weekly budget to work off of. She had no idea what their pay was but everyone needed parameters.

The house itself was well coordinated in both color and furniture but it was missing some things that Kaoru decided she needed to add. Surprisingly, her bedroom was the only one with potted plants. Since Sano had horrible allergies Kaoru invested in some trees, bamboo and fake flowers to decorate different areas of the living room. She bought colorful rugs for the kitchen floor and installed a tropical fish tank on a low desk. She had rearranged the living room twice a week until Sano had made a comment that had ended with Kaoru chasing him across the room with a frying pan.

Things changed once it winter firmly set in with the weather turning icy and occasionally random snowfalls. Kenshin was home more frequently until he was only out once or twice a week, where Sano was gone almost every night. Kaoru didn't particularly understand the difference in their job requirements – she had decided early not to ask. With the drop in weather she had finally been forced to cave on the clothing issue that Sano would not drop. She just hadn't packed with the condition of snow in mind.

Which brought her to her current predicament – Sano had brought in not bags, but several boxes filled with cloths. Each box was labeled according to what was in it and she was attempting to go through the clothing and put it into the correct drawers. Once she got this mess organized she was going to go and yell at someone. This was _not_ her two pairs of jeans and a few sweatshirts.

The fact that she did get new jeans and several warm, thick sweats did nothing to make her feel happier. There were long sleeved cashmere shirts, turtle necks with pretty designs, several pajamas similar to the set that Kenshin had miraculously saved with several washings the night of her arrival in the safe house. There were even two long sleeved evening gowns that made no sense with her current house arrest.

But it was the small box filled with matching sets of underwear that had her blushing furiously. Some of them were obviously for everyday use but two or three of the sets were not for what she would consider causal and were exactly what she would consider wearing if she had a boyfriend or needed to feel pretty. Flushing red she kicked that box under her bed and scowled at nothing.

With the change in weather had come another battle. Kaoru was used to living on her own and had a built in tendency not to turn on the heater. She didn't care to light the fireplace when she was alone and detested running up the heating bill. She just felt guilty. The boys were unamused when they came home to her wearing heavy sweaters and socks but so far, there hadn't been too much of a fight over it. But it was clear by the additional clothing someone was making a statement.

After Sano had delivered the boxes he had disappeared again.

Dragging a hand through her loose hair, she seemed to have misplaced all her ties again – Kaoru headed into the kitchen to figure out what she wanted for dinner. Halfway into the living room the door opened and Kaoru turned to see Kenshin walk in, his expression worn. Her eyes made a practiced scan of his body and she lifted a brow in surprise.

"No blood?"

He looked up, something flickering in his eyes and his shoulders relaxing, before he shook his head. "No. Just meetings today."

Kaoru nodded. "I was just attempting to decide what to do for dinner," she decided to ignore the expression that flickered over his features. Kenshin had been around for some truly spectacular dinner disasters between her and Sano but that didn't mean she was going to let him cook.

"I have a frozen lasagna," she informed him as his expression stayed in those wary lines, "or we can pretend tonight is Thursday and order a pizza."

"Let's go with the pizza," Kenshin said with a smile. "The lasagna will take too long."

Kaoru gave a mock salute. "Fine. I'm getting thin crust and supreme, what do you want?" They bickered over toppings and crusts for several moments before Kenshin went to change and Kaoru ordered the food. Once she had finished she decided to check the mail to see which DVD's had come in from the internet renting company they used. Unfortunately, it seemed that everything that had come in had been off of Sano's list which meant none of it was worth watching unless she was drunk.

Sighing, Kaoru turned to make herself a drink when Kenshin walked back in. Kaoru blinked in surprise. She hardly ever saw him in anything other than a pair of drawstring pants and t-shirt or his work clothing. He had changed into a pair of soft pants and a warm sweater.

"Want something?" Kaoru offered, showing off the glass.

"Thanks," he said with a nod, moving to build a fire. "You can keep it warmer in here, Kaoru."

"It's cold?" Kaoru lied, looking around. "I hadn't noticed."

"Kaoru," Kenshin chided. "We can afford to keep the place warm."

"Of course we can," Kaoru agreed with a nod, handing him a glass of iced Pepsi. "Which is why I keep it warm," She widened her eyes innocently.

"Then why are there the same numbers of logs for the fire as there was when I left two days ago?" Kenshin questioned, lifting a brow. "You can't say Sano picked up more because I know he hasn't been home either."

"Actually," Kaoru said with a faint growl. "He came buy this afternoon to drop off several boxes of clothing. I said a new pair of jeans or a sweater, Kenshin! Not a new wardrobe!"

"Don't change the subject," Kenshin said automatically. Kaoru rolled her eyes at him but before he could reply, his eyes had narrowed in a familiar expression, the doorbell rang.

"Dinner is here!" Kaoru said cheerfully, spinning around to locate the money she had set aside. By the time she had located it Kenshin was walking back into the room, holding the pizzas in his hand. Kaoru pursed her lips at him but pulled down the paper plates anyway, glaring at him from the corner of her eyes. If he noticed he didn't say anything, simply piled his plate with pizza slices and moved into the living room. They hardly ever used the table, choosing instead to crowd the couch and fight over cushion rights.

With it just being her and Kenshin, it wasn't nearly as crowded but it was still close enough that she could leech the heat off his body with hers, without appearing that that was what she was doing. They munched happily for several moments, Kaoru having won control of the flipper, and snarking the different shows before Kaoru got bored and changed the station.

"You know," Kenshin said as he put his empty plate down and wiped his fingers, "it's normally the men in the relationship that are accused of hogging control of the TV."

"I grew up with Sano," Kaoru informed him. "I learned fast to keep it close and to fight to the death." Kenshin raised a brow at her and she stuck out her tongue. He lifted both of his brows but leaned backward, his lashes lowering to cover the glimmer in his cat eyes.

"Kenshin…" Kaoru said slowly, tightening her grip on the plastic remote.

He moved fast. Kaoru yelped throwing her arm out to keep it out of reach while shifting her shoulder to take the brunt of his lunge. He seemed to adjust his plan in the middle of attack and his arms wrapped around her, taking her to the floor. Kaoru shrieked, twisting against his hold and struggling against him, pulling her foot up so that she could plant it on his thigh and shove, managing to just keep the remote out of reach of his grasping fingers.

"Kaoru," Kenshin warned, his voice amused, his hands resting on her waist from where he had pulled her back against him, "give me the remote.'

"No." She wiggled against his hold, using her elbow to gain an inch before he pulled her back down, wrapping his fingers around hers. They rolled across the floor, dodging the coffee table by an inch, Kaoru twisting her wrist almost violently in an attempt to break his hold; managing to pull free once or twice before he pinned her and attempted to break her grip without hurting her. Twisting around Kaoru sunk her teeth in his arm.

The yelp Kenshin gave was almost comical but she didn't let go.

"Kaoru!" Kenshin growled, tugging on his arm, "get your teeth out of my wrist!"

Her answer was to growl and bite down a little harder in warning, wiggling her fingers to show what she wanted.

"Kaoru, get your teeth out of my wrist before I bite back," Kenshin warned. The only warning he had was the faint curve of her lips and then her teeth were gone and the leg on the floor had snapped up around his waist so that they rolled, the move ending with Kaoru on top, the remote held over her head.

"Try not to get distracted," she taunted.

"Kaoru," his eyes were glittering, "be careful."

Her eyes sparkled and he moved, sitting straight so that she rocked back against his thighs and their chests were pressed together. He hooked an arm below her shoulders blade and reached for the remote. Kaoru gave a shriek and twisted as far back against his arm as she could, fighting for leverage against his hold and squirming to get her legs back under her so she could use her legs. He muttered something she couldn't catch, so she reached back and dug her fist into the carpet and twisted so that her hips rocked against his and she could shift to his left side, pulling her right arm as far from his as was possible.

"You're a wiggly little thing," Kenshin growled at her, shifting his weight to get a better angle. Kaoru swore at him and twisted, allowing the pressure of his arm to act as a balance and twisted both arms behind her back. When her hands came back she wiggled her fingers.

"I win."

"Is that so?" He lifted a brow, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "I am not afraid to stick my hand down your pants."

Kaoru snorted. "Do you know how often Sano says that?" She lifted a brow. "Never does it."

His eyes were her only warning. They simmered into the yellow gold of a great cat. The arm under her shoulders blades constricted so that she was pulled against his chest. She wiggled in an attempt to shift her location but he tightened his hold so she couldn't move. Her eyes widened in outrage as his free hand shifted to her waist band and slid down. She jerked in surprise and wiggled, her voice complaining in a high pitched shriek as his hand ran over the curve of her bottom as he made exaggerated sweeping motions with his hand.

"Kenshin, get your hand out of my pants!" Kaoru demanded, thumping his side.

"I'm looking for the remote," he purred. Her wiggling had sent it down to the right knee of her pants but he didn't seem interested in pulling it out. Growling, Kaoru arched against him and sank her teeth into his shoulder.

The hand down her pants slid to the back of her thigh, his other arm cradling her back so when he suddenly dropped forward his arm took most of the weight. Kaoru let go of his shoulder so she could pull back and glare at him but he didn't pay any attention, dipping his head to the juncture of her throat and neck. Kaoru gasped and then shrieked in complaint when he bit down, wiggling against his chest and gripping the sides of his t-shirt in her fist.

"That hurts you jerk!" Kaoru complained, hissing when he just shifted his weight to pin her a little firmer into the carpet.

Kaoru was completely caught off guard when his teeth were gone and replaced by the rasp of his tongue. She tightened her grip on his shirt, twisting her fingers until the threads along his shoulders made a popping noise as the seams strained; uncaring he continued to lick. Kaoru made a noise in the back of her throat as the licking turned to nibbling bites that worked their way up the column of her throat and to her jaw line before he lifted his head and met her wide, startled gaze with his own.

She swallowed at the burnished copper of his eyes and parted her lips to breathe past her constricted throat. A groan escaped his chest at the move and he dipped his head back in, his mouth covered hers almost painfully, pressing his lips against hers and forcing them even wider apart, sweeping his tongue inside her mouth. Kaoru whimpered, wrapping one arm around his back, the other sliding up his spine to fist in the ends of his hair. The hand wrapped around the back of her thigh squeezed before sliding to rest on the curve of her butt. She hardly noticed when he pulled one of his arms free until his fingers started to trace her collar bones, slipping down to buttons of the flannel shirt she had thrown on that afternoon; his mouth never leaving hers.

She tightened her hold on his body as he pulled away for air, lowering his head to nuzzle the sensitive skin behind her ear before grazing lightly with his teeth, his deft fingers continuing to unbutton her shirt until he reached the smooth skin of her abdomen. Leaving the rest of the buttons for later, he smoothed his palm back up the line of her sternum, pausing to run his fingers over the ridge of her bra before tracing the scalloped lace along the tops of her breasts. Kaoru gasped, groaning out the syllables of his name before his mouth caught hers again, teeth nipping at her bottom lip before his tongue soothed the bite and slipped into her warm mouth; his hand continuing to trace faint patterns across her breasts.

Kaoru thought she heard the sound of the door opening but didn't quite register it for Kenshin had just slipped two fingers inside the cotton material of her bra and was doing to the most interesting things with her nipple. Tossing a leg over his hips she attempt to press the lower half of her body as close to his as she could manage, whimpering at the way the hand in her pants was moving around to brush against her panties so that her leg tightened against his hips and she groaned low in her chest.

"What the _hell_ is going **on**?"

If Kaoru hadn't been so shocked at the sound of Sano's voice breaking into her lust induced haze, she might have laughed at the way his voice had broken. Instead, she found herself tilting her head back, regardless of the way Kenshin was sucking on her bottom lip again, to see Sano starring at them, his face a picture of utter horror that was rapidly changing to outrage. Kaoru blinked rapidly, slowly processing the situation

Kenshin. Hand down her shirt. Hand down her pants. Leg around Kenshin's waist. Sano in the doorway. Kenshin letting go of her mouth. Her chin fell forward and she swallowed at the challenging look on Kenshin's face. She poked him in the back and he sighed, lowering his gaze to pin her to the spot, his eyes burning.

"Get your hands _out_ of her clothing," Sano demanded, his voice rising until it was a howl. "Then get your redheaded ass into the kitchen! _Right now_!"

"We will finish this later," Kenshin promised softly, circling her nipple with his thumb so her breath caught, the motion of his body moving forward blocking Sano's vision. He removed his hand from her shirt and took his time untangling his arm from her pants.

"_Himura_!"

Kenshin sighed and picked himself up, offering Kaoru a hand to help her stand. The fact that he got to stare at her chest as her clothing settled didn't pass Sano's furious gaze. "Kitchen. Now!" Sano barked. Kaoru shrugged and went to move but Sano stopped her. "Button that shirt _then_ into the kitchen! Move it, Himura!"

Kenshin gave her one last once-over before doing as ordered, his expression completely unrepentant. Kaoru was thankful that Sano couldn't see the way she was blushing or how her fingers shook as she attempted to button her shirt. What she wanted to do was crawl into Kenshin's lap and ask him to use those teeth of his again… Taking a deep breath Kaoru counted to ten and then finished the last button, allowing her hair to fall forward in an attempt to cover the mark she knew would be visible from Kenshin's teeth.

Sano cleared his throat loudly and Kaoru sighed, heading into the kitchen to sit down. "Across from him," Sano ordered. "Move your chair away from the table so I can see all arms and legs."

Kaoru gave him a look but his expression never changed. Rolling her eyes, she scooted the chair back so Sano could see her stocking covered feet.

"Happy?"

"I haven't even begun, Kamiya," Sano warned her, standing so he could glare down at them. "Someone had better explain what the hell that was."

"Well," Kaoru started. "Kenshin was…"

"I know what it was," Sano gritted out. "I want to know why the hell it happened."

Kaoru and Kenshin looked at each other.

"It was his fault."

"It was her fault."

The sentences were said simultaneously, along with fingers being pointed. Kaoru could feel Sano struggle to restrain himself. "_Why_?"

"She bit me." Kenshin told Sano with a shrug. "I told her I was going to bite back if she did it again."

"You stuck your hands down my pants," Kaoru reminded him, lifting a brow in accusation.

"You put the remote down your pants." Kenshin pointed out, his eyes darkening. "You also have a _very_ nice…"

"_Himura,_" Sano barked. Then he rounded on Kaoru. "How many times have I told you NOT to put the remote down your pants?"

Kaoru pulled her most innocent expression out. "You never stick your hands down my pants. How was I supposed to know he would?" She clucked her tongue at Sano's expression. "You're just jealous because he is more ruthless when it comes to claiming the remote," she cut her eyes back to Kenshin who winked at her. "You're aware I still have it, aren't you?"

"HE HAD HIS HAND DOWN YOUR PANTS!"

"And her shirt," Kenshin reminded him, the grin on his face wicked. "She _really_ has nice…"

"You were NOT," Sano snarled, slamming his hands on the table, "about to comment on her breasts!" He seemed to realize he had just admitted she _had_ breasts because his features took on a twisted cast that suggested he was feeling ill.

"You don't like them?" Kaoru asked, getting into the game.

Sano rounded on her his features contorted so that a twitch had developed above his left eye. His face was turning such a dark color that Kaoru really wished she had a camera.

"You. Do. Not. Talk. About. That. Ever." Sano gritted out.

"You mean the remote?" Kaoru questioned. Shrugging she yanked on her waistband and shoved her arm down her pants, pulling it out of her pants with a gleeful expression. She ignored the way Kenshin's eyes had darkened. "I told you I always win," she told Kenshin.

Kenshin's features shifted to something predatory. "Is that a challenge?"

"You'll lose," Kaoru warned him, running her tongue over her bottom lip.

The table shook under the force of Sano's hands. "Kaoru, go to your room!" Sano ordered.

Kaoru rolled her eyes. "You cannot expect—"

"NOW"! Sano bellowed. Kaoru sighed, put the remote on the table. Standing she turned on her heel and walked out of the kitchen. At the hallway she turned back to Kenshin and mouthed _'I won_' at him. The fact that he clearly mouthed _'any time, little girl' _had her grinning and then Sano was yelling again. Kaoru giggled to herself and decided that the next thing on her agenda was a shower. A very cold shower.

* * *

**_Please Comment_**


	16. Late

I can tell you now that there are more parts to this. =)

Ravyn

* * *

Kaoru pulled her headphones out of her ears and listened for the sound of loud, obnoxious men drinking beer and eating pizza. If Sano were wise, he would have tucked her little personal pan into the fridge and made sure no one touched it. After last time when she had to order her own pizza after they had left to chase chicks, she rather thought he did have it down. And if he didn't then she would be more than happy to wake him up with the smell of burnt sausage and eggs for breakfast with his hangover. Possibly singing. As loudly and cheerfully as she could without having the neighbors beat on the walls.

Living with Sano probably wasn't the best thing she had ever done, but after struggling with rent on her own for a semester, she had been forced to reconsider her possibilities. She hadn't wanted to move in with at stranger, and had been forced to choose between two evils: Misao or Sano. Sano at least was trainable. He had a lack of tolerance for pain. She couldn't exactly beat Misao over the head every time she did something stupid. So she had chosen Sano and was now living with a jock who sometimes forgot that his roommate was a girl.

Thank kami they had separate bathrooms.

Stepping out of her room, she was pleased to see that Sano had at least attempted to pick up beer cans. And Megumi had declared that her stupid-male-roosterheaded-idiot couldn't be trained. Kaoru had known it was just a matter of _talking_ about the problems with a little emphasis on what happens if things didn't change.

The place still smelled like beer and sweaty men with too much cologne, but that was why someone had invented Febreeze. Picking up the half-empty spray can, she set about dosing her apartment. The stuff had only gone up on her approval list when it started to kill germs as well. There was just nothing better. It worked on dirty laundry too.

A soft knock on the door had her pausing from where she had been kicking the play station controllers out of her footpath. Frowning, she looked at the clock. None of her female friends would even consider coming over on a Thursday night. They knew too well it was a night of beer, pizza, men, and the play station. That meant that either Sano had lost his keys…

Or it was someone she didn't know.

Gripping the Febreeze bottle in one hand tightly, she marched over to the door and peered through the peephole. The sight that met her gaze had her blinking several times before she unlocked the door and peered out through the crack. The man in front of her still had hair that was _that_ red and just as short as she thought. Surprised violet eyes blinked at her for several moments before a hesitant smile crossed his lips.

"I'm looking for Sano?"

Kaoru opened the door a little wider. At the very least she thought the Febreeze might be blinding… "He already left."

Embarrassment darkened the bridge of his nose and he sighed. "I don't suppose you know how long ago they left?"

Kaoru eyed him. He looked thin. He had probably been expecting to eat here and she wasn't certain if she let him run off to chase down Sano he would take the time to eat. Opening the door even wider, she stepped away.

"You might as well come in." She told him over her shoulder as she went to put the Febreeze back into the one place Sano never looked – under the sink.

She could feel his surprise as she stood and headed for the fridge. Sano would never leave leftovers out, regardless of the accusations she had heard from past girlfriends. Leaving the pizza out would mean _she_ would throw it away and that wasn't done. There was her little pan pizza in all its glory and there was the pizza with the anchovies that only Sano ate…

"Miss? I would be happy to get out of your hair…"

She ignored the rest of his words. There. "Pepperoni or sausage?"

"I beg pardon?"

Her head rose at his polite turn of phrase and she blinked. For that, he got two pieces. One of each. Standing she grabbed a Pepsi, the only thing besides water they had left and set it on the counter while she dug around for the paper plates.

"Sano left about ten minute ago. They are probably going to drive around like idiots and get a ticket, so you might as well sit down on that stool until they have had time to be boys." She didn't bother to look at him as she loaded the plate and tossed it into the microwave, and wasn't particularly upset that he didn't say anything in turn. The microwave beeped and she shoved the Pepsi and the pizza in front of him.

"Eat it."

Those wide eyes blinked again. He had to be Sano's new project – he had to be attempting to toughen the boy up. His face was unlined and almost too pretty and with eyes like that… oh yes, Sano was taking on a new project indeed.

"No burping, no talking with your mouth full and don't move until that plates clean." Turning on her heel, she headed back into the mess her living room was and rounded up the last of the trash that Sano had failed to get his friends to round up. Probably late for the wet t-shirt contest of something equally… male.

Feeling triumphant when she finished, she decided that she could wait to vacuum once whoever he was was… gone. Dusting her hands off on her legs, she walked over and eyed the now empty plate.

"You want another piece?"

"No thank you."

"Okay." Shrugging, she headed to the landline. She had to hit the search button, because Sano never put the phone back up. It was under the couch. Dialing in familiar numbers, she headed back into the kitchen and leaned her hip against the fridge.

"Hey, a friend of yours is here." She informed him when she picked up.

"Kenshin showed up?" Sano's voice was so loud she had to hold the phone away from her ear. Looking over at the redhead who now had a name, Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Yes, he is."

"We're at the bar!" Sano shouted back. "Did he drive?"

Kaoru lifted both brows and watched as Kenshin nodded. There was no way he couldn't hear Sano. "Yes, he did."

"Send him on over! Before you do make sure that boy eats something!"

The phone went dead and Kaoru sighed, hanging up the cordless. "Do you know where the bar is?"

Lips curled and for a moment, he didn't look nearly so young. "Yes."

"I can draw you map," Kaoru prompted. "Its okay."

"Thank you," he said with that same half-smile. "But I know where it is."

"Well," Kaoru said as he stood. "Have a nice night then. And try to keep Sano from getting into any fights. I would prefer not to have to bail him out of jail again. My jar of quarters if running low."

He nodded, amusement darkening his eyes and studied her for a moment.

"I didn't catch your name."

"Kaoru. Kaoru Kamiya. You're Kenshin." She made shooing motions with her hand. "Go, have fun. Beat on your chest or something manly." Might do him some good… she supposed lots of girls would go for his delicate features, but he really needed to gain an edge.

Unless he was gay…

"It was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for the pizza."

"No problem. I hate pepperoni anyway."

The door shut softly behind him and Kaoru popped her own pizza into the microwave. Silence. Which meant finishing off the Sour Cream and Cheddar chips either over a bad romance novel or some sappy chick flick that she kept under her bed.

Sano was more likely to look at movie titles than books, after all.

* * *

_Please Comment_


	17. Movie

Part II of the College Drabble Series.

Waff Alert Ahead.

Ravyn

* * *

Kaoru studied herself in the mirror, wondering why she was bothering what was probably going to turn out to be something just between friends anyway. The conversation with Kenshin the other night had been baffling and the longer she tried to understand it, the worse it became. She partly blamed the drugs that had been in her system and the rest she blamed on the man himself.

Eventually she just gave up and threw herself into her homework. Locking herself in her room with her books and coming out for quick sandwich, she had finally made a dent on her back work. Monday and Tuesday slowed her down once she started attending classes and the sensation was rather like crawling out of quicksand. Kenshin had rescheduled the dinner… meal… _thing_ to a movie. She hadn't pressed for details and he hadn't offered them. So she raided her fridge for leftovers and lazed around; pointedly ignoring her books.

'_Jeans, _my_ sweatshirt – hair looks decent braided… no makeup but maybe a little perfume since it's just between friends._' Satisfied, Kaoru added the finishing touches to her outfit and slipped on her shoes while she waited for Kenshin to show. She was in the process of locating her purse and the twenty she had pulled out of the ATM machine by Auxiliary Services that afternoon when the door bell ring.

Giving herself one last once over, Kaoru went to answer the door, picking up her purse as she went. Kenshin smiled as soon as she came into view, showing off the dimple in his left cheek. He was dressed as casually as she was, the dark material of his hooded sweatshirt contrasting against his hair.

"Ready?"

Kaoru flicked the lock into place as she stepped out. "Yup," she agreed falling into step besides him as they walked to the stairs leading to the parking lot. "Did you decide which movie you wanted to see?"

Kenshin had offered to let her chose but she had been without immediate access to any trailers and only had a vague notion of what had been playing. It made little difference to Kaoru since the odds that Kenshin would pick whatever movie wasn't a chick flick was high.

"Mmm," Kenshin agreed. "You asked for something that required little concentration and explosions. Lucky for you, the movies were kind enough to release such a flick two days ago." He rattled off the title that rang no bells for her so she just smiled and nodded.

The little compact car sitting in her parking lot was clean and in far better condition than most college students were able to afford. Swinging her eyes to Kenshin was they approached; he caught her glance and smiled.

"Bet with my guardian. I paid for college; he had to make the payments on my vehicle. It allowed me to upgrade a little."

"My cousin drives a Volvo," Kaoru commented. "They're good cars."

"I like it," Kenshin agreed, opening her door. Kaoru blinked at him before settling herself inside. She took a careful breath and then looked around. Surprisingly, for a boy athlete's car, it didn't smell like dirty socks. Instead, there was a faint ginger smell mixed with leather that was actually pleasant.

"So which movie theater are we going to?" Kaoru asked as he buckled himself in and started the engine.

"The new one," Kenshin said with a smile. "They have staggered chairs."

Kaoru nodded, a faint smile starting at the corners of her mouth. It was nice going out with someone hardly taller than she was for once. They worried about things like staggered chairs. The conversation quickly turned to classes and the amount of homework certain professors seemed to delight in giving.

"Oh I had him last semester," Kenshin said in an apologetic tone. "He's particular evil right before a holiday."

"Calculus is supposed to be hard," Kaoru agreed with a sigh. "But sometimes I wonder if he doesn't sit at home and think of ways to torture his students. I bet he has a list of things he had done in the past and rated them 1-10, so that he can remember his best torture tactics for future students."

Kenshin laughed as he turned into the movie theater's surprisingly full parking lot. She didn't think Wednesday nights were the usual night to take a girl to a movie and here she had been hoping to avoid the couples. Kenshin seemed to think the same if the faint lines around his mouth said anything, so Kaoru shrugged and climbed out of the car. When she reached back to find her purse she frowned when it wasn't there.

"Did you move my purse?" Kaoru asked, looking up with a lifted brow.

"You won't need it," Kenshin assured her, that kind smile plastered across his lips.

Kaoru blinked at him. "Yes I will," she replied with a frown. "I always get carded for the R movies and you said there was violence."

"I'm buying the tickets," Kenshin told her in a tone that said he thought it had been obvious, before shutting his door and walking over to her side of the car.

"You don't need to buy my ticket," She told him; frowning as he tangled his fingers with hers to pull her away from the door so he could shut it. "Really, Kenshin, I would like to have my purse!"

"Kaoru," Kenshin replied in the same tone, smile firmly in place. "My treat tonight, remember?"

"Now wait a minute," Kaoru started but was cut off by a whistle.

"Hey Himura! How is your girlfriend?" Kaoru looked up to see several boys with their arms around the shoulders of two women who were obviously _their_ girlfriends.

"She is doing much better," Kenshin called, smiling as they walked up to the line.

"Awesome," the one with the blond hair spiked up high commented. He gave her a warm smile. "You two enjoy the movie then."

Kaoru blinked but didn't argue as she was pulled forward.

"You have a girlfriend?" she asked after they were moving inside. She glared faintly at the tickets in his hand. He hadn't paid her complaining any attention, just continued smiling until she ran out of breath.

"Mmmm," Kenshin said, smiling again. "Did you want popcorn or something else?"

"If I want it I can pay for it!" Kaoru returned, glaring at him.

….

Kaoru sulked, balancing a carton of milk duds and a soda as Kenshin led the way down the aisle for their seats. For all the people outside, the room held a surprising number of empty chairs. Flopping down onto Kenshin's left; Kaoru set her drink down on _her_ left and opened her milk duds, ignoring the amused smile on his face.

"You're not going to wait until the movie starts?"

"I am consoling myself over the fact that I am not allowed to do you physical harm in public," Kaoru corrected, popping one into her mouth to suck the chocolate off the caramel.

"You're sulking," Kenshin's voice was amused.

"I am very good at it," Kaoru informed him as the lights started to lower. "Watch me ignore you too."

Another soft laugh and then the opening credits were rolling. Kaoru set the box down in her lap and settled herself a bit more comfortably in the hope of enjoying the movie. Kenshin seemed to willing to do as she did, popping his feet up on the empty chair in front of them and sipping silently on his drink.

….

"Kaoru," the voice was low and something warm curved along her jaw. "Come on honey, wake up."

Kaoru made a noise of complaint and snuggled closer to the warmth under her cheek. Her pillow started to vibrate and Kaoru finally opened her eyes to see people standing up, her vision obscured by something dark and slightly fuzzy. The lights were on. Lifting her eyes, Kaoru found herself looking up at Kenshin, who seemed to be struggling not to smile. She had apparently fallen asleep. Pushing up, absently noticing the hand falling away from her face, Kaoru covered a yawn and rubbed her eyes, attempting not to blush.

"Oops," she mumbled, picking up her half empty box of milk duds and standing hurriedly. "I usually don't fall asleep on people."

Kenshin offered her a grin as he stood smoothly, the motion almost seamless. "It's alright," he consoled, motioning for her to lead the way out of the row. "You didn't snore too loudly."

Kaoru flung a milk dud at his head.

"I don't snore," she informed him with a sniff. "Unless," she amended, "I have a head cold. Which I don't."

"If you say so," Kenshin teased as he looped her arm through his once there was room. "But I am sure the loud, train like noise wasn't you."

Kaoru eyed him. "Do you like your knees?"

"I am quite attached to them," Kenshin agreed, the corners of his lips lifting.

"I would hate for something to happen to them," Kaoru informed him, pausing between words to yawn again. "So that we're clear, I don't snore."

"You don't snore," Kenshin faithfully repeated, "Often." The yelp he gave when she pinched his side was gratifying. "That smarts," he informed her, rubbing his hip.

"Serves you right," Kaoru told him with a roll of her eyes. "Now you should take me home before I decide to kick you."

Kenshin's answer was to laugh, shaking his head as they walked back to the car.

....

Kaoru shut the door with a sigh, deciding that the elegant bow Kenshin had etched just before she shut the door was both ridiculous and somehow cute. Turning on her heel, she pressed a hand to her heart when she found Megumi standing too close for comfort.

"How was your date?"

"It wasn't a date," Kaoru corrected, pulling her sweater off and sighing. "It was a mutual friend thing. You and Sano are obviously _dating_, so _obviously_ we need to get to know each other. Besides, he has a girlfriend."

Megumi's eyes widened and then her mouth twitched at the corners. "Is that what he said?"

"About the girlfriend?" Kaoru questioned, lifting a brow. "Yes. We ran into some friends of his and they asked how his girlfriend was doing, he said better and then we… watched the movie."

No need to explain that Kenshin had refused to let her buy anything.

"I am taking a shower and then doing to bed. I am beat." Stepping around her roommate, who was clearly having some sort of hysterical fit, she headed into the shared bathroom and decided that the best way to deal with crazy boys and roommates was to sleep them off.

* * *

**_Please Comment_**


	18. Danger

As always, I do not own RK. =)

Ravyn

* * *

Kaoru leaned against the wall, secure in the knowledge that the shadows hid her from the encroaching army slowly making sweeps through the city. Twisting her hair into a tight knot against the back of her skull she kept her senses alert as she pulled on her gear. Long, fingerless gloves that went past her elbow made of dragon hide to protect her skin from the strange acidic blood of the creatures invading her city; a city that would rather collapse in on itself than surrender. Her mouth curved as she adjusted her wrist braces over the hide – it took work, but it was manageable. The last piece was her bone-mask and she tugged it loose from her bag.

Hot breath danced against her neck and ear and Kaoru felt some of the tension ease in her neck muscles. There was only one creature that could get this close without her awareness of his presence.

"You're early." She whispered, tilting her head so she could see his profile.

"It's started." He murmured softly, lips brushing the sensitive rim of her ear. She bit back a shiver and shifted away from the temptation of his mouth. She could feel his amusement and drove the hilt of her sword backwards. He dodged, but she had expected him to.

"Behave," she warned, watching the shadows of him from beneath her lashes. "We have a city to burn and enemies to kill and you're _flirting_."

His gaze was the color of burnished bronze when his eyes met hers. "Yes."

The first, faint cry of alarm reached her ears and she let her eyes drink him in. There was a spark; eyes and hair caught the slow growing fire. She wasn't sure she would ever be used to how _bright_ he was.

"Be safe?"

His smile showed off teeth that were just shy of too sharp. "You as well."

Sliding her mask into place she took the opportunity to roll her eyes. "If you couldn't kill me, bright one, then I doubt they will manage it."

His fingers traced the bumps in her spine. "Be sure of it. I will track your soul into all the dark places of the world if I must, Kaoru."

She bit her tongue to hide her reaction at the possessive purr to his voice. A promise. A threat. Something between them. Pulling her sword free of her scabbard she gave his profile once last glance before sliding into the night.

She had a duty to perform.

* * *

_**Please Comment**_


	19. Touch

Here is yet another one!

Ravyn

* * *

She knew she should understand the voices that were pressing down against her ears like weights. They were familiar and the tongue was one she _knew_… she just couldn't make them _fit_ with the definitions inside her skull. There was cold stone against her cheek and blood in her mouth –her insides were so tangled up she was certain any movement would convince them that they should simply dissolve into nothing.

If she could only _breathe_…

Something pressed itself against her left shoulder blade and it burned through her clothing until it felt like skin on skin and it hurt and goddesses her lungs _ached_… and then she was coughing, great heaving coughs that stretched her throat and lungs until they burned and her body trembled with weakness and half-remembered pain that still sang along the edges of her nerves in ghostly, almost-fingers.

"She is mine priest."

The stone was cold under her fingers and against her lips as she drew in great shuttering breaths.

"This is… most unusual, acolyte."

Finger tips dragged against her spine and she forced blurry eyes open and tried to think. Why was she here? Pale, gray stone told her that she was in the temple but her duties were in the sword-fields so…

She couldn't remember.

"… this one was not intended."

"The choice is made." The voice was pleasant, warm against her ears and the hand against her back was steadying her. When she blinked her eyes managed to focus on more than gray and the white adept robes told that the priest was also a mage and that meant she was in the white temple of the sun so why…

And when she tilted her head to peer up through her hair she found herself laying in the chard out ruins of what had once been the alter. Sitting next to her, crouched like one of the rare firecats was a man of slim structure with vivid hair. His eyes were gold and his pupils looked normal but if she stared too long she could almost see flickers of something darker and somehow hotter behind his eyes.

Then that gaze had lowered to her own and the ringing in her ears mingled with the way the world tilted _white_ at the corner of her vision –she couldn't remember _why she was here_. Then those long, centering fingers were tangled in her hair and he was looking at the priest again.

"This one is _mine_."

* * *

_**Please Comment**_


	20. Positive

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin!

Ravyn

* * *

Kaoru folded her knees under her chin and considered her husband of three years as he lay sprawled out on the couch. He had fallen asleep after lunch. She had wanted to do some vacuuming, maybe even do the dishes but the smallest noise would wake him. So instead, she curled up in her favorite recliner and watched him sleep.

There were circles under his eyes again. She was going to have a talk to Aoshi soon if he didn't start letting him get more sleep. He _only_ needed four to six hours, if that. How hard was it to work in a schedule so that he could sleep properly? Rubbing the tense muscles at the base of her neck, she decided she could at least fold the laundry. Moving as silently as she could, knowing she would probably wake him anyway, she kept one eye on his back as she unloaded the laundry from the dryer into the basket at her feet to cart over to the couch before putting in another load.

Kenshin didn't stir. It didn't mean she hadn't woke him, just that he didn't feel the need to see what she was doing before he let himself sleep again. It was possible he was tired enough to be actually sleeping, but it was unlikely. He didn't sleep that soundly unless some part of her was touching him. She had gleaned that information once from a stray comment Sanosuke had made while he was wolfing down a ham sandwich. Well, he was just going to have to settle for knowing she was in the same room with him.

She had trained herself to ignore suspicious holes in his clothing. Ripped jeans were in style and even though he looked like he was only a few days older than 22, her 33 year old husband wasn't particularly worried about fashion outside of its purposes of making her happy. Jeans with worn knees were good for mowing their lawn, when they _had_ one. Their current apartment was just another stand-in place until Aoshi deemed it clear for them to settle into something more permanent.

Nine cities in three years and nearly three times that in fake identification papers; she couldn't say she regretted it. It hadn't been a comfortable transition. She had grown up in a stable, one-parent environment her entire life. She had gone to the same school with the same kids all her life and chosen a college close enough to home that she didn't have to live in the dorms. Change wasn't a large part of her life.

Figured it would be a redhead who messed it all up. That was what she got from declaring to some friends in high school that she didn't find redheads attractive and the next person who mentioned it was going to be in _trouble_. Karma… either that or just dumb luck. This redhead had paraded into her life and by the time he was ready to leave again, she was ready to go with him. She didn't particularly regret that decision, but there were times when she was tired of having to watch her back all the time. Weary of the worry that settled into her chest every time he disappeared and came home with the faintest smell of blood and soap on his skin.

That was the price she paid for marrying an assassin. Not an accountant like she had thought while realizing how much work it was to earn a living. Not something safe and practical that would always have job security and good insurance. She had fallen for an _assassin_. She had liked to tell herself, when he was still trying to bribe her into going on a date with pastry and coffee at the café she liked to study at, that she could walk away. That even if there was something terribly attractive about his smile and those eyes she was so very fond of… _could walk away_.

Ten minutes with her arms around his waist, fingers digging into the muscles of his back, his hair tickling the side of her neck, cold brick behind her as he pressed every line of his body into hers had changed her mind. She could still feel the way the world had tilted the first time he had dragged her into an alley for some privacy after she had pushed all his buttons. _Deliberately_. She still enjoyed pushing those buttons. There was just something satisfying knowing she could push just hard enough that he would drag her somewhere secluded, tangle his hand in the back of her hair, heft her up by the back of her thigh and do things with his mouth and tongue that made her forget… everything.

Her eyes cut to Kenshin's body when he sighed. Lifting a brow and debating if he was finally getting tired of sleeping, she shrugged and went back to matching socks. She could have sworn that she had gathered them all for the load of whites… looks like she was going to have to buy more again. Aoshi owed them more money for the price of socks alone these days.

Satisfied that things were as clean and folded neatly as they were going to get without Kenshin redoing her progress, she headed into the kitchen to see if she had pre-made meals left. Kenshin kept several of them on hand, frozen and in single serving sizes for when he was gone. Really, she had only melted two pans. It wasn't like they were that difficult to replace. It wasn't like she had blown up his sword or accidentally dropped his gun into a vat of bleach!

The sound of Kenshin sighing and the rustle of the blanket falling away from his body had her checking the coffee she had started earlier. He probably needed a cup if the groggy way he walked into the kitchen said anything. Reaching for the folder magnet clip holding the take-out menus, she dropped them in front of him while she went digging for a clean coffee mug. Feeling triumphant, she set that in front of him, dropped into a chair, and threw her feet over his knees and leaned back.

Take-out, coffee, and a movie sounded like a good way to spend the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

_**Please Comment**_


	21. Friend

This is a multiple part drabble series. There are I believe four installments? So far at least. =)

Ravyn

* * *

Kaoru felt like she was being pulled down by something thick and sticky. Every time she managed to make it close to the surface – it pulled her back down until she was unable to breathe. Eventually she managed to drag out and laid there exhausted. She didn't realize someone had pressed their hands to her chest until they were missing.

"She should come around soon now." The voice was old and thin, wavering a little and it took Kaoru a moment to place it. When she did, shock surfaced weakly in her system. It had been a long time since she had heard Dr. Gensai speak in such a manner. It was as if he was completely worn… it was hard to _think_.

"But she is going to be fine, right? I mean, she is going to be okay." Misao's high voice held a frantic edge to it that had Kaoru struggling with the heavy line of her eyelashes. "Look! She's moving! Kaoru, Kaoru can you hear me?"

Kaoru found herself opening her eyes to meet the fuzzy features of the Heir's face, her brows tucked together and her skin paper white. "Kaoru, why did you _do_ that?"

"What," she croaked out, "are you doing in my bedroom?"

"You're in _my_ bedroom, if you want to get technical. I had the hardest time getting Dr. Gensai past Shinomori, you know, grandmother's grumpy Captain of the Guard? Anyway, he didn't want Dr. Gensai up here, but I put my foot down. I thought you were dying."

"You weren't dying," Dr. Gensai said smoothly. "However, I don't think knowing what I know now of what happened to you, I would have tried fixing it myself."

"That was a nasty spell trap," Kaoru said slowly, shifting to push herself up in bed as she started to remember. "I'm a little blurry on the details right now, but I am sure that it was a spell trap…"

"It was," Misao said wearily. "I have never seen one like that." Her lips were still white. "It drained you down to the dregs. It must have been something in that little amulet of yours that saved you, because Dr. Gensai said you had no magic. None."

Kaoru blinked slowly, her fingers slipping up her necklace.

"I'm sorry I put you in that position, doctor." She closed her eyes as she fought off the dizziness. "How long will I be without this particular protection?"

"At least two weeks, maybe longer; I am leaning towards longer. Hopefully, with proper food and rest, it won't last longer than six weeks, but Miss Kamiya… you will not be able to use any of your offensive or defensive magic. You will be prone to dizzy spells and will increase your food intake to at least twice what it is now."  
Kaoru rubbed her eyes. "That was a _trap_, Misao. Someone was attempting to kill you."

Misao sat down on the bed. "How did they get past Shinomori?" she whispered her eyes huge.

"Shinomori's concern is your grandmother," Kaoru pointed out gently, her voice tired. "You will not become his priority until your grandmother abdicates." Kaoru finally managed to work her way into a sitting position. "Then you get all his attention to yourself."

"I don't want it," Misao said, her features darkening.

"Misao, are you certain you don't want him to know what is going on? I gave my vows to you and I won't break them," Kaoru continued, holding up a hand to waylay her furious denials. "This is the fifth attempt in a month and this one was nasty. What if you had set off that spell trap instead of me?"

"I can't," Misao said, her chin rising at the angle that always set off the feline cast of her features, making her eyes spark. "I won't."

Kaoru rubbed her nose. "Thank you for your services, Dr. Gensai, but I will be fine now."

He looked like he wanted to say something, but gave a weary sigh instead. "I will send up a list of foods that will aid you in your recovery."

Kaoru nodded her thanks and then focused her eyes on the princess who was pacing back and forth across the room, her face twisted into an uncharacteristic frown.

"Kaoru, I can't ask…"

"I need a consort."

"What?" Misao gasped, her eyes widening.

"I need a consort." Kaoru repeated. "At least until your grandmother steps down. You have another ten years in your training and I need someone to watch my back while I watch yours."

She tested her weight against the floor gingerly.

"But… but a consort? I thought you didn't… I mean, you always said that you _didn't_…"

"I changed my mind," Kaoru said with a shrug. "I'm not going to bring him in as my lover and I have enough of my own money to set him up with a steady income and put him somewhere he can be happy afterwards. It's just ten years," she soothed her wide-eyed friend. "Who knows, maybe I can find a friend in the situation."

"But…."

"Misao," Kaoru tried again wishing she had the energy to argue. "You have to think it through. I am under pressure to bear the Yukishiro clan a child; my mother is off on a diplomatic mission for your grandmother and you are the heir to the throne. In ten years, your grandmother will retire and you will assume reign as Queen. By law, Shinomori cannot assist you until you are named Queen. We both know that. Only when you are Queen will you be untouchable. Whoever is going to try to kill you has ten years to do it. In order to protect you I need someone I can trust. If I can't find a way not to enter a contract for a child with the Yukishiro's, I will need someone to watch over me and my child, but I think the idea of having a consort will infuriate Enishi enough that he will back off."

A grim smile touched her mouth. "I need a consort."

Misao's expression suddenly shifted, the delicate lines of her brows smoothing so that her features took on a familiar cast. It was her grandmother's expression.

"I get to pick the candidates."

"Oh no…" Kaoru said, shaking her head.

"Listen to me," Misao ordered. "I get to pick the candidates. I have more resources than you do. I can pull people that you, even you in your lofty position, can't touch." Her features were stubborn. "You need the best and I can get them. Two days from now I will have your first candidates."

Kaoru sighed. "Fine. Right. Sure." Rubbing her brows, she stood. "I have to go and figure some things out. Tomorrow, Misao."

"What?"

"Have them ready by tomorrow. I have my reasons."

Misao blinked as Kaoru slowly moved out of the room. "I hope she knows what she is doing."

X

Gods above she had wanted to avoid this for as long as possible. She had told Misao only a half-truth. Misao wasn't the only target being slowly honed in on. Leaning up against a wall, she let the natural shadows of the hallway cloak her presence. Reaching upwards she pressed her fingers against her temples, letting out a long sigh.

She had spent most of her life teaching herself the arts of both offensive and defensive magic, teaching herself how to strike at the heart of those who went against the throne. Right now she was working on slowly and carefully building a magical web that would protect Misao from the worst of her enemy's attacks – help her to prove that Shinomori wasn't necessary as just the Captain of her Guard. The web itself wasn't complete; it would take another five years for Kaoru to finish the delicate spells and connect everything.

Five years that she didn't have any more. Closing her eyes for a moment, she allowed herself to reach deep inside where she kept her stored magical well. It was completely empty, dry as if she was an apprentice who had invested too much power into a spell that was out of her league.

A consort.

Kaoru let her head fall back against the wall and swore softly. She had been old enough to take a consort or husband since her eighteenth birthday, nearly two decades past. She had never found anyone she trusted to be her equal in either technique or sheer brute strength. After Misao, she was next to the throne, but she had never intended to take it for herself. Misao was the Queen's chosen heir; had the benefit of learning at her knee for almost thirty years. They were friends. Kaoru would do whatever it took to protect her.

And it seemed that protection would involve taking a man as a consort.

Women of the upper courts rarely married. Children were more likely to stem from political alliances. Consorts tended to be men who were strong enough to protect a woman and her children from the dangers of other political households. In the South the kingdom was ruled by men and was supposedly less bloodthirsty, but for Kaoru's people, those who gave life were the ones who could take it away.

Consorts were weapons that shared a woman's bed tied for a minimum of ten years by law. Sometimes, a woman would bear a child to the consort's bloodline, but only those were extremely favored received that honor. Even rarer still was the taking of a husband. Either way, consort or husband, the contracts were written very carefully, each woman making sure that they did not in some way give the man a position in the household greater than theirs.

Women ruled the men and the men served the women. At least, that was how the higher courts were ruled. Towards things operated a little differently and while the women in families generally had the last say, peasant lives were difficult enough; it was an ongoing battle to continue to establish the middle class. There it made sense for a woman to take multiple lovers who could aid her in caring for her offspring and to ensure there was enough food if one man was killed by bandits or disease.

Tomorrow – that was as long as she had before she was forced to choose the man she would be dealing with for the next ten years, assuming he accepted her bribe to accept the position. Men who were strong were well sought after, but some of them would refuse to serve a particular household or women if they were abusers. It was their right, after all, to ask for conditions in the contract as well.

Pushing away from the wall, Kaoru tried not to fall over as she walked down the hall. She had to give the appearance of being perfectly healthy. Once she returned to her room, she would have to find her sword and long knife; start keeping them close. Turning a corner, she was startled when she almost ran into a man, his dark red hair catching the light. They managed to avoid crashing into each other – he kept his eyes on the floor, his apology curiously accented before he was gone.

Shaking off her weariness, she set her chin and headed back to her room.

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_**Please Comment**_


	22. Think

This is part of what I have mentally dubbed my "Court-Series" or aka, it follows the Drabble Friend.

Ravyn

* * *

Nothing about the past twenty-four hours had gone as expected. Kenshin could pinpoint the exact moment it had gone downhill: when he had taken him monthly report to Lord Shinomori. The Captain of the Queen's Guards had his eyes and ears in many locations and he was just one of the assassins that reported to him. Everything had gone as normal – the report hadn't been anything spectacular. For once it appeared the Queen's enemies had begun to look in another direction.

On his way out, he had run into the Royal Heir. For such a small women, there were some rather amusing rumors floating around about her temper. The fact that her chin was lifted and her lips were thin line was a danger warning he hadn't been foolish enough to ignore; just not fast enough to avoid. The irony even now had him sighing. She had taken one look at him, pausing in what was obviously a warpath and then nodded, her eyes ranking him from head to toe.

"Report to the shadow room tomorrow morning."

Then she had swept into Shinomori's office like she owned the place.

Even through his shock he had the time to be amused that Beshimi and Hannya had let her do it. They had simply bowed and watched her enter, stepping close together to close off the entrance to the room with their bodies. Unfortunately for him, his amusement was short lived. You didn't just ignore the orders giving by the High Ladies, must less the direct Heir.

He had honestly been surprised at what he found – then angry. It had been a simply buffet of male flesh for an unknown Lady to choose a consort. Whatever favor she had called in from the consort must have been a high one because the quality of the men around him had been surprisingly diverse. Choosing a pillar, he had leaned against it and quietly seethed for the time allotted for that mornings… choosing.

It had been several hours later before he had cleared his head enough to plan. A woman close enough to the throne to ask such a favor was a woman with both the money and the influence to give what a man would demand for such a sacrifice. Giving ten years of life to a woman, meeting every need and fulfilling each _command_ that was given…

When word had come that she wished to discuss the possibility of a contract with him, he was ready. She had been willing to put him up in a comfortable room for the deliberations – he had taken the time to plot. There was really only one way for him to assure that this was not a Lady's attempt to trap him for ten years of service and then to turn her back, casting him away like a broken sword. The practice was frowned upon, but not unheard of.

The room she had provided for him was decent enough. He had allowed himself the luxury of a few extra hours of sleep and a hot bath, making himself comfortable. It was obvious he was not expected to cook for himself, the kitchen having fallen into disuse. It had taken him half the night before to locate a decent pot to make his coffee in the morning. Breakfast had arrived two hours past dawn brought by a fresh faced serving maid. He checked for poison anyway.

When her courtier arrived, he was _prepared_.

The man was slender and only a few inches taller than Kenshin himself. His clothing was a high quality and it was clear that he was well fed and content in his position. That was one mark towards this High Born.

"I bring you a contract from my Lady Kamiya."

Kenshin felt a ripple of shock flicker through his belly. The Kamiya household was _very_ close to the throne.

"I will read it." He accepted the piece of paper – feeling the spark of magic that made the contract binding. He took his time to read over what she offered him in return for his service. He had to struggle with his mask surprise. She was being generous, _very_ generous; but not quite generous enough. If she agreed to what he wanted… then this would be it. He had every intention of eliminating the possibility of being in another contract.

The contract offered him the standard position as her partner for ten years. Her demands were simple: protection for her and protection for any children that came into the partnership during his service to her. In return, when his ten years of service were finished, he would have his choice of her estates with a monthly stipend. The sum she named assured that he would live comfortable wherever he chose to live – but it was the clause which allowed for the sum to rise depending on the strength of his service that intrigued him.

Kenshin read it twice. Not once did it demand that he share her bed in any sexual manner. By not putting it into the contract, even as a possible event for the future, there was no way she could demand sexual favors from him.

"If you are satisfied by the contract, sign at the bottom. I shall return it to my lady."

"I am not."

Kenshin watched from behind his bangs as the man attempted to mask his surprise. He took pleasure from that expression, settling back against the couch and sipping his coffee. It was only fair that he cause the lady some of her own discomfort after his own. Yes, this would be the last bargain he ever had to make with a woman.

"What is your wish?"

"A child."

The man blinked, his features going slack before he caught himself. "A… _child_?"

Kenshin set his mug down. "Tell your Lady that I will require a child from her before the ten years are finished."

The soft eyed man stared at him for a long time before sweeping into a correct but stiff bow.

"I will return with her answer."

Kenshin watched him leave. He had several reasons for making that demand and he wondered if the courtier or the lady would understand any of them. Leaning back he rubbed his eyes. The first was _obvious_. As an assassin for Shinomori it was doubtful that he would find any women willing to give him a daughter or son to continue his blood line, not when even the daughters of the middle class had their choice of men. He generally liked children and the desire for one had been growing for years.

His other reasons were purely political and more than likely were the ones she would decide were behind his reasoning. By asking for a child, it would be impossible for this Lady to shove him off onto an estate and forget about him after his years of service. The birth of a child was a sign that she accepted him in her life. Because of his position as consort to the lady during the birth of the child, it would also be impossible for her to deny him parental rights. Also, if the child was her only– boy or girl – it would become her heir. That was doubtful with her long life span, but something worth considering. The Kamiya name held a great deal of power.

Kenshin sat up and walked to the window. It was just a dream, of course. No women would agree to bear a consort of little means a child. Leaning against the cold glass, he watched the morning pass. It came with a great deal of surprise when the knock came again, not a full candle mark later. Turning, he lifted a brow when the man returned. He had not expected her to the have the control for a second contract so early in the day. Contracts took magic to form; strong, binding magic that drained the user. This Lady Kamiya had formed two in one morning.

"Her Ladyship has agreed to your request and I bring forth the second contract for your perusal."

Kenshin blinked slowly. Accepting the pale paper, he reread the contract. She hadn't changed anything except to add the clause at his request. It assured him a child. Not only _that_, but she assured him the birth of a child after five years of service to her. Which meant he would be given the first five years of his child's life without having to share him or her with the next consort or the husband of her choice; surprise filled him.

Whoever this lady was, she was either extremely desperate or very generous… something to consider. Smoothing the contract onto the surface, he pressed his thumb to the line under her signature. The neat, rounded script proclaimed her as being Kaoru Kamiya. He memorized the name, the writing and the magical aura that her contract gave off. Concentrating, he let his magic flare just enough for the contract to absorb, filling in his own personal signature. As he watched – and to his surprise – the contract duplicated in a neat showing of magical power.

"I shall take the copy to her lady. She has instructed that you keep the original. The introduction and acknowledgment ceremony will be tomorrow at dusk, if that is to your approval."

Kenshin gave a nod and the small man bowed. He twisted his wrist and a small, square box fell onto the table. The consort ring. Kenshin waited half a candle mark before standing and moving away. He had some research to do. He wanted to know anything and everything he could on both this Kaoru Kamiya and her family; what connection they had to the throne, before tomorrow night.

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_**Please Comment**_


	23. Shelter

I actually *do* have drabble sized stories tucked into the corners of my LJ. =)

Ravyn

* * *

Sneakers splashed through the puddle, drenching her socks and pants alike. Gasping for air, Kaoru skidded to a stop under a familiar overhanging. She wasn't paying enough attention – the rain had half-blinded her and she was in a _hurry_ – belatedly realizing that there was someone else hiding from the sudden down-pour. She grunted as she crashed against a solid figure of flesh and bone, momentarily winding herself.

Arms wrapped around her waist, holding her steady when she would have bounced backwards into the rain, back into the puddle she had jumped over in desperation or worse. Gulping heavily, she finally lifted her gaze to meet curious indigo-purple framed by dark red bangs damp from the rain. Water clung to thick, dark lashes and her blue eyes widened in surprise.

Swallowing again, she lowered her eyes back down the smooth line of his nose to watch thin lips curl upwards at the edges. Heat fluttered warmly in her abdomen.

Her lips parted and her tongue rapidly flickered across her suddenly dry bottom lip.

"I'm Kenshin."

His voice was soft, deep and rumbled in his chest under her hands. She couldn't catch her breath.

"K-Kaoru."

She breathed deeply again. Air. Rain. Spicy cologne.

He hadn't moved his arms.

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Please Comment


	24. Nut

Disclaimer: I do not own RK.

Ravyn

* * *

Kaoru settled her skirt a little firmer around her legs, attempting to distract herself. Not that the reason for her confusion was going to disappear any time soon. He had made it clear that he was interested and it left her feeling uncertain and entirely out of her depth. For most people, interest meant a few private conversations or a dance during one of those ridiculous little parties. At the most she could expect him to appear at just enough of the same functions she was attending for people to start linking them together. Usually by this point, they either realized that she was just a little too untamed to be _exactly_ proper and they were unwilling to continue further. She smiled her acceptance and they found another, more willing young lady.

But not this one.

Rolling a nut between her fingers, absently considering the texture of the still green fruit, she watched him from under her lashes. He seemed content with his book, his legs comfortably positioned, the tree behind him supporting his spine and neck. But the feeling that even when it appeared for all purposes that he was paying close attention to the words on paper… that he was paying more attention to her. Except she would have sworn his eyes never left the pages.

Sighing a little, she shifted her eyes away from him – harder than it should be, he was so bright – and went back to studying the clutched between her fingers. The nut was safer. Perhaps less productive, it wouldn't make an interesting subject for her Misao, but it was _safer_. Safer to pretend that his eyes weren't burning a line down her neck, ghosting over what little skin her deliberately modest, _proper_ gown shown to the public view. Easier to pretend that she wasn't hyperaware of his presence or that _intensity_; that she wasn't curious to see what his next move would be, wanted to know what it would be. Lifting her eyes again, she snuck another glance at him; his eyes were still watching the pages of the book. There was no sign of memorization, of the way she knew his gaze catalogued everything she did with those curious sparks of gold.

No, it was better to think of something else. Like the weather. The nut between her fingers. The way her hair ribbon never quite manages to contain her thick hair. Anything else. Because she wouldn't let him make her nervous, wouldn't let him crawl under her skin. Because then it wasn't interest… then it became something else.

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**_Please Comment_**


	25. Tired

3rd installment of the Court Series. Follows: 21: _Friend_ and 22: _Think_.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.

Ravyn

* * *

Kaoru dropped her head in her hands and took a deep breath. What she needed was a hot cup of delicious tea, a steaming hot bath and a meal with enough protein to make even Misao happy. Unfortunately, she was stuck with cold tea which _she_ had made – it tasted terrible. She peered through her fingers at the cup. Surely brewing a proper pot of tea after thirty odd years of trying _wasn't that difficult_. But oh, it was. It was either so strong she ended up soaking everything up with bland crackers and eating it that way or it was so watered down she should have just drank the water itself. There didn't seem to be much of a range between the two.

Her stomach growled in complaint and Kaoru considered, just for a moment, finding out what the hell would happen if she did order food from the kitchen. Unfortunately, she just didn't have the energy to order the food or check it for poison. Instead, she picked up one of the stale crackers and nibbled. She didn't dare let her whim become an act. The past two days had forced her to throw out three meals. The third might not have been caught if Kamatari hadn't been there to take the food.

At least her old friend hadn't done more than scowl and disappear, returning with sandwiches.  
Pushing to her feet, she stubbornly ignored the way the room spun and walked to the window, leaning against the glass panes. Had it really just been that morning that she had sent the revised contract? Her fingers brushed against the thick pane as she tried to form a picture of the man who She should have been unsurprised that someone with his talent knew exactly what he wanted – it might have been the reason he had remained unmatched.

Giving him a child while he remained an active consort would give him leverage she hadn't thought to guard against – wasn't sure that she would have even if she _had_ thought about it. She was having a difficult time holding his needs against him. The truth was… she would have done the same if she had been in his position. He couldn't know that his demands, while a complete surprise, had given her the best possible reason to refuse the Yukishiro Clan. That he had given her a reason to disguise her sudden need for male companionship in ways that had nothing to do with Misao. She didn't think he was aware of this byplay… but it was possible he would know before the ceremony.

She wondered what he thought her reasons for the offer were.

The cold air coming off the glass helped counter some of her weakness and Kaoru bit her lip. She really shouldn't have made that second contract. The first had been difficult enough and the second had left her so dizzy and weak that she had required Kamatari to help her to the couch to rest. Unfortunately, he had been forced to leave her to deal with the contract and by the time she returned she had managed to disguise how tired she was well enough. She just wished she had thought to ask him to bring her meal. Now she didn't have the energy to summon him.

'_Idiot_.'

The sudden sound of the door opening had every muscle in her body tensing. Cursing mentally, she twisted around, letting her eyes scan the desk where she kept her knife. Schooling her features as she swung her gaze to the door, she stilled internally at the sight of _who_ had walked into her rooms without setting off any of her wards.

She had known he wasn't very tall, had appreciated it. She had never liked being dwarfed by a man, had never felt impressed by those who felt the need to flex their muscles to be noticed. It had been his eyes that had caught her attention the morning he had stood before her while she hid behind a screen. His eyes had been hot and yellow; shifting with the intensity of his moods. She watched now as they flickered across her and to the desk. Even after his eyes came back to her, there was the lingering impression that he was examining the room around them.

How had he gotten in? She glanced down at his left hand and the ring that glimmered faintly in the light. She didn't know whether to be surprised that it had fit or that he was wearing it.

"It fit then?" She was relieved when her voice came out strong enough to carry across the room.

"The spell was well worked," Kenshin replied, his features slightly guarded as his eyes swept her a second time. She watched as his mouth tightened, the gold of his eyes darkening into bronze.

"Good," Kaoru said. "May I ask _what_ exactly you are doing here?"

He lifted a brow, leaning back against the door, shutting it softly with the motion, his body language almost lazy. "I wasn't particularly interested in meeting you tomorrow in front of a dozen strangers."

Kaoru pursed her mouth, watching him for long moments. She hadn't expected such a candid answer, but maybe she should have. She doubted he minced words on the battlefield and Misao had hinted that he had been used in the Assassins Core. There was little reason to expect him to accept protocol between them. In some ways it was refreshing, in others, well… it was something she would have to get used to. His file said he was from a land near the border. Perhaps she should have taken into consideration how different his lifestyle would have been there instead of a place closer to the court.

'_Too late now to worry about it,_' she thought with a sigh. She had been too tired to think and now she was going to have deal with the small quirks she hadn't considered.

"Why don't you have a seat and I'll explain what you've gotten into?" Kaoru suggested. The request was partly to make him feel more comfortable and partly because she was so _tired_. She wasn't sure she could have the conversation they needed to have without falling down halfway through if she continued to stand. She didn't attempt to keep the weariness out of her movements – it would have been a wasted effort and just drained her more than she already was. Even the surge of emotions – _exasperation_ because she had wanted another day before they met, _relief_ because he could fetch meals – she didn't dare tap into them for energy.

Sitting down on a wide chair she studied Kenshin. Each movement was controlled, graceful and silent. It was a good thing she had built a locator spell into his consort ring when she had designed it years ago as a precaution. If he moved that quietly all the time, it was possible that he might startle her into a defensive spell. That had the potential to end badly. Once he had sat down she spoke.

"First, I would like you to call me Kaoru." The way his features shifted was interesting. "Second, before I get started, do you have any questions?"

Kaoru _liked_ the way he studied her before he answered. It showed attention to detail and another swift glance of the room when he had sat down had been impressively thorough. He had seated himself in the most interesting way. She wasn't sure which glance had told him where her weapons were, but his body was angled so that he could move himself between her and the door, giving her the chance to grab the knife on her desk.

"Why only the minimum contract of ten years?" Kenshin asked, his disconcerting eyes settling on her features. It was unfair how he could manage that look under lashes that long. To her surprise though, his voice lacked an accent. Leaning back in the hope that it would keep the room from spinning, she considered his question.

"Misao won't take the throne for another ten years. Her grandmother has given her that long to finish her training and to finish putting together her council. Until then, Misao is under a minimum amount of protection as is required by law. There have been… several attempts to assassinate her over the past fifteen years."

"Is that why you decided to take a consort? To protect the Heir?"

His voice didn't rise or fall with any sort of judgment, but there was something about his tone that she couldn't put her finger on. That rattled her a little. She had been trained since she was a child to pick up and more importantly,_ understand_ each nuance of any voice.

"No," Kaoru said shaking her head. She allowed a little vehemence to enter her voice even as her mouth angled down into a faint frown. "I need _you_ to protect _me_. I can take care of Misao." "Unfortunately, you might have agreed to do more than you think." She ran a hand through her bangs.

"The only way to Misao is to kill me. Misao has been attacked five times in the past month. Five days ago I set off a spell trap that should have killed Misao. I fared… decently, for the strength of the spell." She watched his eyes to see if anything showed through. He must have been wearing his assassin's mask because not even his pupils reacted. "I'm a bit low on magical resources at the moment."

There was silence between them as he processed what she had said. "So your plan is to watch the Heir's back while I watch yours." His voice was thoughtful. "How exactly do you plan on protecting her?"

Kaoru gave him a considering look. "Do you want to know everything now or can we take this one subject at a time?"

"Explain the effects of the spell trap." Kenshin said after a moment. "What do mean when you say you are low on magical reserves?" His eyes narrowed a little, as if he knew the answer to his question, but was wanted her to admit it to him.

"I can't use my magic right now," she said finally. "It's not my _only_ defense, but until I get my levels stabilized, I'm prone to dizzy spells and I need to sleep a lot."

She decided not to mention that lack of food recently. There was something about the line of his mouth that was… a sort of warning.

Kenshin stood and when he spoke, there was an odd note in his tone. "I believe those contracts you made were magic based."

Kaoru sighed. "Yes, but they were necessary. I will admit that I was thankful when you didn't request another change."

She wasn't certain she could have found the will to shape the contract again. He stood and moved closer to her, watching her from those bronze eyes. This close, they were shape a little like a cats.

"Have you eaten?"

"I can't cook." She forced herself to admit it, determined to keep things honest between them. For now at least. It wouldn't do them any good to start out on a bad foot and once she figured out his temperament and reactions, she would be able to keep things to herself. Until then, however, she was stuck.

A noise rumbled from his throat. "Show me the kitchen."

X

Kenshin watched her sleep, absently wondering what he had gotten himself into as he absently listened to the sound of hear heartbeat. She hadn't moved from where he had tucked her into the blankets, skin paler than even a lady of the court had a right to expect and he was surprised to find that it worried him a little.

_Kaoru_.

She had talked while he cooked, explaining anything he had thought to question her about. He hadn't said anything about the way her voice had slowly lost strength, the shadows under her eyes only making them look larger, childlike. There had been a stubborn glint in her eyes and the angle of her jaw had promised trouble. So he had cooked, calmly categorizing all the information she had given him and drawing his own conclusions about the lady who would eventually give him his freedom.

He had honestly thought she would fall asleep while she ate, but she had set her shoulders back and took each bite slowly, chewing exactly ten times, and then swallowing. She had managed to clean most of her plate and only rattled the delicate tea cup against the saucer once.

Kenshin had debated just sweeping her off her feet and taking her into her room, but he wasn't certain where that was. The couch didn't look comfortable for an extended nap and he had been afraid that once her body stopped moving she was going to stop being conscious. So he had followed her closely from behind, memorizing the taste of her wards and the path she took. She hadn't acted like she noticed, eyes on her feet, but if she was aware of anything, he knew it was him. She kept her body had angled towards him no matter which direction they had turned. Over the meal, her eyes had judged each nuance of his expression and there had been the way she had tilted her head each time he had spoken, as if looking for something in his voice.

He had pretended not to notice when she gathered a nightgown and went behind a screen, her breaths labored in the room and he had pretended not to notice the faint bruising on her legs. As if she had bumped into things recently and not noticed. Not until she had climbed under the covers did he walk towards the bed. She hadn't remained conscious for more than a few heartbeats after her head hit the pillow – her energy levels were a little healthier for the food he had cooked. His options had been limited and he would need to go and find things to stock her kitchen with. Her soft comment about the poison had his jaw locking in temper. It was the coward's way out.

Rubbing his suddenly aching head, Kenshin made sure all her wards were in place. He would first clean up his mess and then go to the kitchen to bribe the cook for fresh fruits and vegetables to cook for dinner, and then he planned on coming back and watching her sleep. She needed her rest and he needed to make sure that someone wouldn't try to kill her before his contract to her was official. Calculating the time, a little over twenty-four hours until the ceremony, he shut her door behind him before he set his own ward along the lock. He would know now if anyone attempted to tamper with _her_ wards.

This was his duty now. To protect the woman who would eventually give him both his freedom and a family. He would protect her. His future. Barring his teeth in a sharp smile, he set off to complete his tasks.

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_**Please Comment**_


	26. Back Alley

Well, that took longer than I thought it would. Between my vacation to Alaska and my work trips, the last two months have flown by. Sorry about the delay!

Ravyn

* * *

"Sano, I do not understand why you _continue_ to bother me with this." Kaoru growled as she wiped down a corner of the bar. Someone had spilled a vile of blood and she didn't like the way the table of vampires in a back booth were swaying.

"Because it's important," Sano returned lowly. "You won't talk about it when you're at my place because…"

"As your son's godmother I am enjoying myself," Kaoru sniped. "This conversation is over. _Again_."

"Kaoru…"

She had already turned her back, moving away from him to start taking drink orders. Sano had no right telling her what she needed to do. She knew he was worried about her, but she was determined to make this work. Her way. It could work. It _would_ work. Some nights were cold and lonely, but for the most part, she was enjoying the freedom that it gave her. Yes it was dangerous. But so was pack life. They were just different and Sano had a baby to think about.

It had been two years since they had fled Chicago. He should have known by now she wouldn't change her mind. Huffing, she slapped her rag against a shelf and glared at the wet spot. Two years wasn't nearly enough time for things to settle but it was close. Sano was edgy because he had grown up in a pack; she had spent most of her life on the edges. Sano had been in training to be the next beta – she had been one step away from rogue.

But he was the best friend she had ever had and she would never let something to him or his family. The fact that he had fallen in love with a human had meant little to her. When Megumi had found out she was pregnant, they knew they were going to have to move and fast. The pack would never have tolerated the relationship much less the child. Megumi had been a blessing, helping Kaoru teach Sano the necessaries of living outside of a pack life; there were some things that pack members just didn't understand about real life. It had been exasperating and amusing experience, one that she would hold over her friend's head for many years. They even had pictures.

The city they had finally settled into had been as close to perfect as they could manage. Megumi managed to get into a med school, there was a solid _other_ kind community and the alpha male of the local pack tolerated rouges, along with other/human relationships and offspring. When they had arrived, a tall man with cold eyes had met them at the train station, accepting their ID's and their exhausted explanations. Kaoru suspected someone had already told him the problem. A situation like theirs didn't stay quiet and they knew they were being tracked. Over the years, werewolves had become something of the policemen of the night world; each pack kept careful track of _other _kind and rogues in their territory, keeping the numbers at an even balance with the humans.

They had been escorted to a hotel and two weeks later, received a note giving them permission to stay for another six months on probation. Once they proved they weren't going to cause problems, they were allowed to stay permanently. Sano and Megumi had chosen to stay in pack care, but Kaoru had moved out of the three bedroom apartment into her own place as soon as she could afford it. They needed the room for the baby and she needed her sanity. A nine month heavy Megumi was a woman only Sano should have to deal with.

She had found a neat, clean little studio apartment not so far from where she worked. It was only a ten minute walk from a park, allowing her to stretch her muscles. She didn't change except in the privacy of her own home and even then, rarely. She didn't have that sort of permission.

Her job provided Sano and Megumi with an income they needed. There was only so much Sano could do with Megumi so pregnant and risking complications. The baby wasn't completely human and it drained Megumi to carry him.

Taking a deep breath, shaking off the memories, she plastered a smile that wasn't quite a bearing of fangs and got to work. Sano hung around for half an hour before giving up. He was talking on his cell phone, giving her one last glare and heading for the exit. She had promised to stop by and see Yori tomorrow, so she supposed she was going to get an absolute earful then. Oh well, that was tomorrow.

Sano wanted to try to join the pack that ran the city. Kaoru had gone out of her way not to know their names, faces, or even the name of the pack. After growing up with the tight structure of the Chicago pack, she was learning to get the feel for life outside of it and she _enjoyed_ it. There was something liberating at not having to keep careful track of all your actions to report back to the alpha.

It wasn't always fun, but it was hers. While there seemed to be a huge difference between the pack here and the pack she had grown up with, a loosening of rules and requirements, she wasn't interested. Sano had to be. He had a child to protect. A child that might be the first of many who was half-were. He would need to the packs protection. Especially if Megumi did agree to the change once she graduated from medical school, she wasn't willing to take another break from her classes.

Looking at the clock she grinned and lifted a hand to rub the back of her neck. "I'm on break," she hollered at the manager, who looked up from where he was missing drinks and nodded.

Kamatari was vampire, and extremely odd for it, but nice enough as a boss. He gave breaks when they needed it, not according to any system. It was hard to pick exactly when an other was going to need a few moments. Vampire bartenders only took breaks to suck down blood, but were had tempers and needing breaks from the customers themselves. Kaoru just wanted a moment to enjoy semi-silence. Her ears would ring for half an hour after she left work.

The air outside didn't smell better, but it at least wasn't so recycled or filled with cigarette smoke. Just the faint scent of common garbage that wafted from the garbage cans a little further down the alley. Sighing, and continuing her impromptu neck massage, she listened to the sounds of city life.

Tilting her head to the shadows near the entrance of the alleyway, she snorted. "If you're attempting to hide, you are doing a horrible job."

"If I was hiding, you wouldn't know I was here." The voice returned. "A mutual friend asked me to step in and check on you."

Kaoru frowned as the figure stepped out of the shadows. In front of her was a man only a hands breadth taller than she was. He had long red hair that had been pulled into a high tail. His stance was casual, hands in his pockets, feet spread apart; yet there was something about the intensity of his blue-violet eyes that caught and held her.

"The only friend I have that would be considered mutual for _anyone_ knows better." Kaoru informed him, lifting a brow at his expression. This man was wolf and he was pack. She just had to figure out how high in the hierarchy he was. Her position as rogue wasn't automatically a bad thing when dealing with pack, but she couldn't insult him to his face.

"He worries about you."

"I'll put that on his grave," she returned with a sharp smile. "Now that you know I haven't managed to spontaneously combust, you can leave."

He gave a low chuckle. "Sano was forthcoming about your attitude." His smile was slightly crooked. "Around the time he was biting out that you continue to refuse to discuss additional protector or possible probation membership. Why?"

"I have my reasons, you haven't earned them." Kaoru returned, narrowing her gaze.

His thin mouth curved. "You have no idea who I am." His tone was colored with laughter as his eyes moved over her features. "I won't hold it against you."

Kaoru looked at her watch. There went any chance of _no_t losing her temper. "I don't care who you are." She met his eyes squarely, refusing to show submission. The intensity of his gaze hadn't eased, and the odd colored eyes were almost lighter somehow. "My refusal to be pack is _my_ choice. I don't know or care what Sano has been saying about me."

He lifted a brow. "So you prefer to be alone and unprotected."

"I prefer to make my own choices." She returned. "I have to get back to work. My respects to the alpha," turning on her heel, and trusting him not to attack her when she had her back turned, Kaoru went back inside the bar to finish up her shift.

Tomorrow, Sano was going to get an _earful_.

X

Kaoru watched as Sano attempted to feed the stubborn baby some cream of wheat. Yori wasn't having any of it, his little face scrunched up and his brown colored eyes were looking anywhere but at the spoon in front of him. "You know, when your aunt Kaoru does this, it isn't nearly as difficult."

"Sugar," Kaoru told him, her voice colored in laughter.

"Sugar?"

"I put sugar in it when Megumi isn't looking."

Sano made a noise that had Yori looking at him with big eyes, his little mouth parting in a large smile gummy smile.

"You're a spoiled little brat," Sano told the baby with a sigh, scooping some sugar into the little bowl. "You would have cried and cried until daddy figured it out, wouldn't you?" Yori shoved a fist in his mouth and smiled widely, drooling.

"He is just like his mother," she said with a laugh. "You should be a mind reader by now."

"His mother wants to know how long you are going to be working at that shady bar. It's dangerous."

"I smell like wolf," Kaoru reminded him. "Not many _other _kind are going to want to tangle with me. I'm perfectly safe. And Megumi doesn't want to know, you do."

"You're rogue. We're both rogue. There isn't pack scent to protect you and you don't smell like me any more either, not since I married Meg." Sano replied, picking the baby from the highchair when he refused to eat the last few bites, carrying him over to the sink to clean him up. "Megumi very understanding for a human, but there are things she can't begin to fathom. A single, female wolf out there alone with the big baddies isn't good."

"Did you just say 'big baddies'?" Kaoru questioned, the corner of her lips curving in laughter.

Sano sighed and looked down at the baby. "Your Aunt Kaoru is making fun of me again."

Kaoru snorted. "Give him enough time and I imagine Yori will be making fun of you as well."

Sano gave her a mock glare. "Don't think I am not onto your game. I have been talking to Kenshin lately."

Kaoru's lifted a brow, "Who?"

Sano turned, bouncing Yori a little. "Kenshin. I know you met him." At Kaoru's continued blank stare he sighed. "Redhair?"

"The idiot from the alley?"

"That idiot," Sano said with an amused expression, "is alpha."

Kaoru bit her lip. "Oh."

"You smarted off to him, didn't you?" He put the baby in the play pen, handing him his favorite soft toy to chew on. "Kaoru…"

"He deserved it," Kaoru said faintly. "I'm not pack and he can't order me around."

Sano sighed. "I would never have thought you were such a mouthy female."

"It's part of my charm."

Sano rubbed his temples. "You know, I don't even want to know. I just don't want to know. You already give me gray hairs."

"You don't have gray hairs."

"If I could have gray hairs, I would. Because of you," he pointed a finger at her.

"You give me too much credit."

Sano snapped his teeth in frustration and Yori let out a baby chuckle, amused at the faces his father was making. "Sure, laugh at me," he grumped at his little boy, making another face just to see that gummy smile. "Well, we will just show your auntie Kaoru, won't we?"

Kaoru lifted a brow. "Do what?"

"We're going to discuss joining the pack today and you are going to sit down and listen."

She settled her hands on her hips. "You are in trouble already for setting the alpha on me last night."

Sano looked surprised. "I didn't set him on you." His eyes slid over her shoulder

"Then why did he show up at my work place?" Kaoru demanded, her eyes flickering with unease.

"Hey, I don't question alpha leaders!" Sano spluttered. "Not when I need to get on his good side." He groaned. "Okay, so maybe I called to um… vent.'

Kaoru flopped onto the couch and frowned at him. "I don't like that he cornered me like that. I don't even want to know why you're close enough friends to have his number."

"I imagine he is used to doing what he wants. Because Megumi is interested in making the change and I am interested in finding us a pack, I've been looking at this group. I like them. They're strict about a few things, I'm going to have to go back to school, but they are fair and there is no prejudice against those who are made and those who are born pack." He told her. "It's just the place we're looking for."

Kaoru bit her lip. It did sound good. Except she had insulted the alpha last night… "Is there any sign that our old pack is close to finding us? Are they even looking?"

"Kenshin is looking into that. Even if we decide to stay as rogue, he wants to know what to expect. Does it matter? We both know that they will eventually decide to look and when they do, we're going to need to the help. Especially if the alpha decides that he needs to make an example out of us."

"Yeah," Kaoru sighed. "That is what I get for running away with the next in line to be the beta." She rubbed her face with both hands. "It's been over year; there should have been some sign of them by now."

"I know." Yori made a faint growling noise, chewing on his toy, as if he was sensing they were talking about him. "But all we can do is be prepared for if something does happen. I need this pack Kaoru. The first place they are going to strike is going to be at Megumi and Yori."

"I know," Kaoru replied. "I just… are you asking or ordering me, Sano?"

"Asking," Sano returned. "I don't want to go into a pack without having you to watch my back in the capacity _as_ pack, but if it is something you are completely against, I understand and I won't force you. Hell, I don't think I _could_ force you."

"Look, I can't make any promises, but I won't completely reject the chance to get to know the pack outside of my work place." She sighed and looked at the wide brown eyes staring up at her as he growled and chewed on his toy. "I owe Yori, that at least."

Sano grinned. "I told them you would say that."

Kaoru picked up a pillow and threw it at him. Part of her was relieved Sano had been so determined to force her into getting to know the pack. While she needed to know if she could make it on her own, away from the pack and away from those _rules_, part of her really missed having pack mates.

She would see how things turned out.

"For that, I am feeding your son a Popsicle and letting you deal with his mother when she finds out about his sugar intake." Her smirk was vicious.

"Hey! Kaoru! You're joking right... Hey... Really... back away from the freezer!"


	27. Kill

This is part one of a two part series. The next shot gives more background... sort of. This is the way I originally posted them, so I decided to go ahead and keep it that way for this as well.

I hope you enjoy!

Ravyn

* * *

She held the tray steady only by force of will. The fine silver cups would show even the slightest tremble of her wrists and she didn't dare show such weakness. Not here. Not now. The slave collar burned along her throat but she stubbornly kept her eyes on her knees, forcing her mind away from the heat at her throat and the steady, aching throb of the strained muscles in her arms and knees.

He hadn't taken his eyes off her all evening.

Sweat slipped down her temples and pooled at the base of her neck; she wished desperately for water. Her skin was already turning red from the sun and it seemed that her Master wished to keep her out in the open. This was not the first time he had flaunted her before his guests, but never to this degree. Her memory was scattered and the attempts to look further than her time here left her incapacitated with pain – she wished she knew why this one was _different_.

But the eyes the colour of desert sand hadn't left her face since the moment she brought out the drinks her Master had requested. In this heat, it required a mage to keep the liquid cool. Pulling the heat out of the water one thread at a time was a strain. She wasn't sure how much longer she could manage it without collapsing.

What was worse was the growing tension in the air between the men.

Desert bandits… that was what the Master had called them; wild men who lived deep in the desert and guarded the oasis that the king wanted for his own people. They had mages – men and women who were not held in check by a mage collars. No control over their tempers or their powers and that made them dangerous. Kaoru felt the first tremor along the back of her thigh – an old scar that she couldn't remember getting – and knew that she was losing control. In another five minutes she could collapse at her Master's feet and accept the beating as was her due.

If only she could think past the growing headache in her temples.

If _only_ the bandit would stop watching her like a starving man. Squeezing her eyes shut, she counted her breaths. The world went quiet and for a moment she thought she had fainted. Then she heard the faint sound of a string snapping in recoil and the gurgle-gasp of a man choking on his own blood. Lifting her eyes she found her Master staring at her with something like shock, an arrow no longer than the length of her hand protruding from his throat.

Pain exploded from the collar around her neck and she crashed onto her hands, the tray spilling across the sands as screams of rage and terror mingled with metal and she lifted her fingers to the hot metal around her neck in an attempt to breathe. Air was constricting in her lungs and her fingers burned and blistered, yet she held on, desperate. Whatever magic she _had_ tangled and twisted around her violently and for a moment there was relief from the heat, from the burning in her hands and eyes – then it was gone, sucked into the mage collar and she was sprawled out on the earth as her air passages slowly closed.

Her Master had died and now it was her turn.

Someone was shouting too close to her and her body was turned over in one quick movement. Warm, calloused fingers cupped her cheeks and moved down her neck, settling on where her pulse should have been. Her lashes fluttered but it was so hard to breathe. Soft, crooning noises caught her attention and she struggled to stay conscious. Why was…

Hot, searing pain cut into her throat like a knife and she screamed, arching away from those fingers. Thrashing, she wept as someone shouted and more palms worked to hold her down. The sound of metal snapping cut through the thunder in her ears and what magic she had left burst free of her skin. Fingertips settled against her throat and words were being said that she didn't understand and heat and wind moved against her flesh like a touch; she shuddered as the worst of the pain stopped.

"Hush Kaoru, you're alright."

Opening her eyes she blinked past blurry tears and found that the golden eyed man from the desert was the one cradling her face between his too-hot palms; he had eyes like desert heat. Swallowing painfully, she trembled in the aftershocks of pain that flicked and flared along her collarbone.

"It's gone. You're safe." The wrap around his face was gone and she was left staring at a scar that she thought she had seen before. "I've got you back and you're safe."

She shook her head slowly, gasping for air. "What..."

The word was soft, croaked out by a voice unused to speech and something burned through his gaze. His head tilted as something moved out of the corner of her eye. She didn't recognize the strange, lilting speech that was spoken but it struck a chord deep inside her chest and she squeezed her eyes shut to hide the fresh tears.

Why did she miss that?

Something warm was pressed to her lips and when she swallowed it was water. Slightly warm from the desert heat but fresh and she drank until he pulled it away. Warm breath ghosted along her ear as she was carefully lifted but it wasn't worth opening her eyes for.

She didn't understand.

"I don't know you."

The arms gathering her close paused. "You will."

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**_Please Comment_**


	28. Old

This is the prequel to #27. Kill. Or rather, it really wanted to be apart of that world so it made itself into a prequel!

=)

Ravyn

* * *

Kaoru swallowed hard. This… this was not what she had expected.

The sand under her bare feet was still warm from that afternoon's blistering sun and she lost all concern for scorpions as she caught sight of the riders who had invaded their small camp. They hadn't noticed her yet, she wasn't in their immediate line of sight and there was several tents stationed around the fire. These were not the gypsy bandits that raided the coastlines but the people of the sands who guarded the desert oasis. _Her_ people didn't have much contact with them and with whispers of war hovering in every rumor; she would never have expected to see them so far from home.

Reaching up, she curled one hand into the edges of her cloak and stared at the man standing in front of the fire, arguing with one of the scouts. He was short but even with his face and hair hidden; there was a presence to him that made her heart pound. Throat dry, eyes wide she didn't dare move to do more than breathe. Everything about her had locked onto this one man… this one fighter and no matter how she struggled for some way to deny it…

He was _hers_.

Licking dry lips, she frantically did the calculations in her head. The ceremony had been two moons ago… and the little band she called almost-family had been on the move, tracking a gypsy team who had kidnapped two small children three days ago. How long had it taken him to realize what had happened – to find her? She had waited patiently for some sign that her offering to the goddess had been accepted, that someone had _felt_ her call but this…

For all the years of the ancient ceremony she couldn't remember but a handful of times the goodness had chosen outside of her people for a match. It was accepted but always looked on with some amusement and it had _never happened_ to a fire mage. Mages always took partners from the clans where it was expected that they would stay.

Would he expect her to go with him? Would her people let her?

A surge of emotion she could not explain tightened the lungs in her chest and the fire rose up and wavered dangerously before she could clamp down on her frustration. The muted voices stilled and the men with the goddess-chosen reached for their swords but the short man who was _hers_ – in ways that no one else could ever be – stilled them by lifting a hand. His gaze shifted, roving along the tents and she felt numb when a pair of glittering eyes as gold as the sands beneath her feet met hers.

_Oh_…

* * *

_**Please comment.**_


	29. Thirst

This was written for Tae. She wrote me a fabulous gift-fic and then this decided to jump up and bite me. So thank/blame her.

Yes, yes, three desert stories in a row. I'm sure you'll forgive me. =)

Ravyn

* * *

The Watering Hole wasn't original in any sense of the word – this close to the edge of the Dead Sands, there was no point. Tacky, worn-down bars that were held up with more magic than nails were within spitting distance of each other; some were hardly better than lean-tos with a roof. The soldier outpost was only a few clicks away – it helped that this was the last place to pick up supplies before entering the unforgiving desert sands.

Kaoru had been running The Watering Hole for six or seven years now depending on the calendar she was keeping time by that month. Her sometime partner would send customers over from the Bare Bones Inn and she would steer clientele that had more gold than they would need in the desert that direction. Misao paid for the mage work that was needed and Kaoru would come and politely remove any problem clientele.

So far it was working out.

She just wished it wasn't so _damn hot_. The price of water was high enough that she didn't bother with heating it anymore – there were spells for sterilizing dishware that were cheaper. One day, she was going to move somewhere wetter but until then…

The bar itself she had inherited by complete accident. She had worked as a Merchant Guard. The path was the same for all the caravans and raiders and desperate villagers were expected threats along the journey. Most started at the temples at the base of the Crater Mountains through Black Pine Forest and eventually to the start of the fields that belonged to the unnamed lands until you reached here; this godforsaken strip of land that boasted more bars than hotels and earned most of its ration from the raiders that picked off the unlucky along the rocky bits of the desert. Before it turned fine and threatened to suffocate a man far easier than the CrystalSeas to the east. Working the jobs had given her enough income to start putting some aside every winter – and she made the return trip often enough to start learning names and faces. Eventually that led to a favor or two exchanging hands between old Saul – the original owner – until she found herself with his blood on her hands and a vacancy to fill.

So she had. She just wished for an occasional change of pace… and the ability to take a steaming hot bath without threatening to give herself heat stroke.

There was a faint ripple of noise and the peculiar energy everyone seemed to retain with this much sun as the door opened to let in a few more guests. Blowing her bangs out of her eyes and wishing that she dared bring in a mage to renew the cooling spells before high summer, she glanced up to see what traveler was looking for some respite from the heat. The local squad of soldiers wasn't due for leave for another twelve hours so it had to be either a mercenary or a merchant – or both. There was no telling this deep into the Wastelands.

He was slim and covered in a fine layer of sand and his clothing showing the wear and tear of having spent several weeks in the desert. Most people didn't make it that far into the desert and back out again. Dark red bangs fell messily over a pair of eyes as yellow as the desert sun. She absently scanned his body, searching for weapons… and admired the way his pants clung. Flicking her eyes back up to his face, she froze at the angle of his jaw – more importantly, the scar that stood out in relief against his sun-darkened skin.

'_I need a favor.'_

'_You always need a favor.'_

'_This time I really need it – come on Kaoru. I wouldn't ask this if it wasn't important.'_

'_What's he look like?'_

'_He's a short little fellow. Got lots of red hair – look, he's got this scar, okay? It's on his face and it looks like a cross. You can't miss it. I just need you to give him some cover if he comes by.'_

'_Cover?'_

'_Yeah… like an old lover or something. Don't give me that look! It's not like you're seeing anyone and… _

'_Sano!'_

"_Oi, no need to be violent! I got it just… just promise me_.'

Well _shit_.

Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, she propped one arm up on the counter and blatantly stared at him. Those fascinating eyes shifted to her direction and she met his gaze head on before deliberately lowering her gaze down the surprisingly attractive length of him before arching a brow in a clear challenge. The slightly tense line of his shoulders melted away and it was with an air of confidence and challenge that he moved on near soundless feet towards her.

She never took her eyes from his stalking gait, pouring a drink and slinging it down the wood of the bar in an almost absent minded manner. The ever present buzz of the crowd died a little as he curled around a stool and watched her.

"You're still in trouble."

His brow arched upward and his _very_ attractive mouth curved upward in one corner.

"Hello, Kaoru."

Oh now that just wasn't _fair_. She could have dealt with all the sharp angles and his eye catching coloring but to have _that voice_… Especially when she hadn't seen something this attractive in what felt like years. Leaning forward, she pressed in as close as she dared – for this to work; she had to dare quite a bit. Her bangs brushed against his and she tapped her fingers against the wood of the bar to hide the way her fingers and toes wanted to curl at the heat in those eyes.

"No."

His voice softened. "No?"

"I'm still mad at you."

And she twisted away, reaching for the bottle behind her and pouring another shot, slamming it down in front of him before sauntering down to the end of the bar to deal with actual paying customers. A soft, lightly mocking laugh gave her an entirely inappropriate urge to see how far she could push. The fact that she wanted to bite that smirking bottom lip at least gave some credence to the fact that he was supposed to be a past lover.

She made a point to ignore him – deliberately skipping her eyes over his body and putting a little extra swing to her hips as she moved around, filling drink orders. He was playing his part well – she could practically feel the line his eyes were burning down her body and the flush in her face wasn't completely from the exertion of dealing with the crowd. She wasn't exactly expecting the way he grabbed her wrist as she slinked by… but she had wondered how long he would sit quietly.

Sliding her eyes over, she blew her bangs out of her eyes and arched a brow. A hint of teeth and he turned her wrist over, bringing it to his mouth before deliberately flicking his tongue against the network of veins under his mouth.

"How long are you going to ignore me?"

Lowering her lashes, she pursed her lips. "I'm still deciding."

Pale bands of color twisted around his pupils and she tucked her bottom lip between her teeth, careful to keep her posture just disinterested enough. Wiggling her wrist, she tested his hold. Amused, he let her go, dragging the edge of his nails lightly along her palm as she pulled back.

"Ah."

Huffing, she tossed her air. Before she could figure out what exactly she wanted to say – Challenge? Suggest? _Sulk_? – the familiar tones of her co-worker cut through the endless den.

"Kaoru-chaaan! You _would not believe_ how hot it is outside!"

Kaoru was far more worried about the temperature inside. Brow tilting, his entirely too bright gaze slid over to the flamboyant man who worked the evening shift twice a week. Kamatari flittered in, hands waving, eyes scanning along the bar top and froze when he caught sight of the redhead. Amusement gave her breathing space from her libido.

"He's taken."

If Kamatari was surprised at the tone of her voice – the redhead just looked satisfied. Crossing her arms, she gave him a flat stare meant to convey that he was still in trouble. The redhead simple lowered his lashes and watched her with an expression that held more promise than she would have expected. Heart hammering in her ears; face slightly flushed she turned to deal with her long time friend.

Leaning forward, Kamatari cut his eyes over to the redhead. "Honey, why are you still _here_?"

"I'm mad at him."

"Then go somewhere and let that delicious specimen _apologize_! Right now!"

She gave him an aggravated look. "I'm working."

Kamatari snorted. "On the wrong thing; _go_. I'm paying my favor. Shoo. Get out."

Kaoru felt her jaw drop and refused to look directly at the man watching with a kind of lazy indulgence radiating off of every pore. Huffing, she tapped her fingers on her arm and cut him a look. His smile was slow and inviting and she was glad her boots hid the way her toes curled. It was entirely unfair that she was going to just escort him to his room and drop him off for the night.

Well… it didn't mean she couldn't have a little fun. She dragged her tongue along her lips before sighing heavily. "I suppose you might as well come with me."

Something flickered and burned behind those eyes and she brushed a strand of hair clinging to the sweat on her neck away and headed for the back rooms. Sometimes they were rented out to friends – most certainly that was where she was going to be putting up the redhead whose name she didn't even have. Amusement lightened the knot of anticipation in her gut and she opened the door, making a show of ushering him in.

The door shut and she blew her bangs out of her eyes but before she could turn to ask him _why he was here _and _where the hell was Sano_, a long fingered hand slid along the seam of her shirt. Heat fluttered in the pit of her stomach at the press of his body against her spine and the scrape of his calloused fingertips around her navel. Feather soft, his mouth brushed down the line of her throat.

"Still mad?"

She didn't know if she should kill Sano or thank him profusely.

Curling her hand along his hip, she slid it down his thigh and along the sword sheathed there and slipped the other into the pocket of his trousers. The catch in his throat as she wiggled back up against him, scrapping her nails along that inner pocket as she tilted her head to get a better angle on his jaw was _satisfying_.

"Furious."

As much as her libido was clamoring that she twist around, shove him up against the wall and find out how long it would take her to get him out of those pants… she forced herself to back off. Ignoring the sharp angle, she titled her mouth so that her lips brushed against the ridge of his ear and tapped the length of his sword against his hip.

"I'm not going to fuck you for cover."

There was a moment of silence and then his hand settled against her hip, bracing her weight.

"I didn't expect you to."

His voice was even better here, when there wasn't a crowd to take into consideration. "Excellent. Then why don't you explain?"

His jaw ran lightly against her chin and she felt the curve of his lips resting against her temple.

"Is this place secure?"

His hand was distracting – it had left her hip and slid inside her shirt again, feathering a path up to her breast bindings and back down to her navel. She couldn't quite stop the way her breathing went shallow at the _intent_ in his voice.

She swallowed. "Yes."

"So no one will interrupt?"

"Its spell locked."

She hit the wall just hard enough to _thump_ and she gasped as he slid both hands down her butt, hitching her up by her thighs. Her eyes met his and the idea that the play in the bar had been _restrained_ and with _intention_ sent more than just anticipation curling through her chest. Kaoru's heart hammered at the blatant invitation staring at her from under those thick lashes.

'_Oh_.'

If this wasn't about cover… at least not _anymore_; dragging her tongue along her bottom lip she curled her fingers into his tunic and tugged him forward. His thin mouth curled in a wicked little smirk that made her breath hitch and he leaned in so that his bangs brushed against hers.

"Good."

His kiss was deliberate and almost lazy as he leaned his weight into the curve of her body. Her fingers dug into muscle in his upper arms and she gave into her previous temptation and caught his lip with her teeth, tugging down as her shin bumped into the sword still strapped to his waist. Arching his hips into hers, he crushed her mouth and she moaned as his fingers dug in. She vaguely noticed the sound of metal hitting the earth as he hitched her leg over his hipbone and she realized he had dropped his sword. She gasped for air when he settled his lips along her jaw and scraped a path with his teeth to the base of her ear.

"For such heat you're wearing too many clothes."

Sinking her hands into his hair she fished her hands and used the pressure to pull his mouth against from her skin. "_You_ need a bath."

Laughter puffed against her skin and his tongue flicked against her chin. The hand that wasn't kneading the back of her thigh shifted to his hip and the sound of steel unsheathing jerked her attention back to his hands. Her heart hammered in her chest at the implicit threat of that movement… and the curve of his mouth was less than comforting as he settled the base of the knife along the edge of her shirt – before sliding it up smoothly along her skin, cutting away the heavy laces of her shirt and the soft cloth she used to bind her breasts. Eyes locked on hers, he slammed the knife into the wall above her, hilting it to the base. She stared at those burning eyes and tried to catch her breath.

His palm fit low against her stomach and fingers spanned out in a fan. Eyes lowering to her mouth he traced the contours before he lowered his gaze to the curves only partially covered by the split cloth. Glancing up from under his lashes, he dragged his hand lightly up the exposed skin – skimming along the sensitive skin of her breasts, calluses dragging lightly against her nipples and settling against the base of her throat. Her leg flexed against his hip and she tightened her grip on his hair, breathing heavy.

Leaning back in, he took her mouth, tangling his tongue with hers. He tasted faintly of the whiskey shot she had poured him earlier and she dragged her nails down the back of his neck. Growling, he tugged her bottom lip into his mouth and sucked before releasing it with a faint pop. Hot gold met and held her gaze.

"I'm Kenshin."

* * *

_**Please Comment**_


	30. Mate

This is currently a one-parter but I am being bribed to write more of it. =)

Ravyn

* * *

The ring was packed shoulder to shoulder and the noise was near deafening. Curling her claws into the railing, she sincerely wished she could deaden her nose – the stench of sweat, cheap wine and thick, too-sweet perfume was making her head hurt. Even as far away from the ring as she was, Kaoru barely had the wiggle room necessary to breathe. She was far from being the only one cloaked – even the lighting was dull and bad enough that those around her who chose to go without were mere blurs. There was a distinct impression of fur _here_ and _that_ _one_ had fangs that looked more vampiric than demonic… Movement in the ring caught her attention and she peered down, almost blinded by the one well lit area as she forced her eyes to adjust.

Her claws dug into the railing as she finally got a glimpse of the fighters. So the rumors were true then. They had one caught one. Else. She hadn't believed it when she heard the rumors floating through the city, had been unable to deny the itching need that had almost been a compulsion to _see_ who it was they caught and could no more explain the hammering of her heart in her chest than the uneasy feeling in her gut.

The elves were slowly gaining ground at the borders and it was only a manner of time before the Arch-demons were called in to reinforce the territories. Like many of the half-bloods she was used to gather the bodies off the field during the one hour granted to both sides; to haul them to the temples to help fuel the blood-magic that kept the armies fed. She took after a mother she didn't remember – sharp claws, sensitive nose and a magical reserve that was modest at best. In the ranking of things, she was hardly worth a minor imp's attention and useless at anything that might have allowed moving up the ranks even without a deep well of magic.

Claws flickering in the dull light, she snarled a warning when something that smelled vaguely cat-like attempted to elbow him some more room. Once she was certain he wouldn't make that mistake twice, she lowered her eyes to the stage and let her eyes drink him in.

Only a thrice-damned elf would wear their hair that long into battle; a rope of rich red as thick as her wrist fell between his shoulder blades. There were two long, scrolling tattoos on either side of his spine which might have been for spell-wings; she couldn't read the incantation and could hardly make out the blurred image. That they had left his braid and the ornate armband wrapped around his left bicep told her that they wished to make an example out of him. But how had they caught him?

Battousai. The elven kingdoms great warrior general.

Why was he _here_? This ramble was dangerous only because of their numbers. She had seen what he left behind him on the battlefield – at least two of the guards closest to him had swords and none of them were spell trapped nearly enough to keep him from ripping those wards to shreds and using their own steel against him. As much as the low lords wished to use him as an example…

Who was using him as bait?

Unease flickered in her chest and she was thankful she was so far away from him. Biting her lip, she took a deep breath and slowly eased just a touch of her power to clear her vision. Not enough to be noticed – not in this crowd – but enough to cut through the haze of whatever they were burning near the ring.

Her heart stopped beating when Battousai's shoulders tightened. Every line of his body tensed and he slowly twisted his upper body – blatantly ignoring the screams so close to his body. Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she watched as he seemed to look for something in the crowd. Frowning, she scanned what she could see around her. If the elves were planning on something and were using their General as bait…

She felt a little light headed. As the low drums signaling the start of the fight began – his opponent was large, covered in spell tattoos and reeking of blood-magic – she lowered her gaze back to him… and found herself staring into _gold_. For a moment every part of her body paused as if _waiting_… It was impossible for him to see her so far back and she was covered in a cloak that even elven eyes couldn't see through. Slowly, the knots in her shoulders relaxed…

And a soft, faint brush of power rolled down her spine like rare-honey. Jerking, the screams of the crowd as the brute raised his hands to signal the start of the fight covering her gasp; she scrambled to find a way to shake that touch off. It twisted along her aura, sinking against her defenses and searching for cracks. Staggering away from him and those _eyes_ she gasped for air as it struck; twisting and burning through the too-thin layers of her defenses.

Heat washed over her and in the hot air around her she struggled to breathe.

'_I am Kenshin._'

Oh no. No, no, _no_. Wiggling through the thick press of bodies she worked for each crack and struggled to find an exit. Bloody, pointy-eared idiot! Finally reaching an opening, she rushed down the carved stone of the steps; forcing herself to ignore the screams and bellowing of the crowd. She felt – _she felt_ – his exasperation and amusement along with a cold, certain determination to win.

She hoped he _died_. She wanted him to _live_. Ducking out into the hot, humid air she froze mid-step as she felt that breathless laughter down the back of her neck.

'_I will come for you when this is over.'_

He wouldn't… he _couldn't_…

* * *

_**Please Comment**_


	31. Hot

Mob Fic!

Follows .009 Cold and .015 Cheat.

Ravyn

* * *

Kaoru walked into the kitchen the next morning to find Sano waiting for her. He was sitting at the now clean table, his features arranged into something that was almost stern.

"Not a word Sano, until I have a cup of coffee in my hands." She already knew where this was going and she wanted the energy. Her dreams had been restless, phantom hands and mouths that did nothing to improve her mood. Once she was sitting, hands cradling the life giving java she leaned back and sighed.

"Alright, might as well let me have it while I am too tired to get pissed."

"You cannot date Kenshin." Sano declared brashly.

"I wasn't aware we _were_ dating," Kaoru muttered.

Sano glared at her. "You are banned from any sort of relationship with him."

Kaoru lifted both brows. "Assuming I want to be in a relationship with him – we could be masquerading as shag partners – I fail to see how _you_ get a say."

Sano took a deep breath. He was clearly attempting to maintain some control and Kaoru appreciated it. Pitied him, because she wasn't in the mood to play nice, but appreciated the gesture anyway.

"Kenshin is dangerous," Sano said carefully. "Being in a relationship with him is _dangerous_."

Kaoru sipped her coffee. "What do you mean dangerous?"

"He works for the Mob, Kaoru! That makes him dangerous!" Sano growled out.

"You work for the mob," Kaoru replied lightly. "I don't see how that changes anything."

Sano rubbed his eyes. "I _freelance_ for the mob. I wasn't even supposed to be here with him but there was a mix up and we sort of hit it off… not that it _matters_!" He glared. "He is trouble; you attract trouble, so nothing good can come out of _you_ getting into _his pants_!"

"Clearly," Kaoru informed him, a mischievous grin tugging at her lips. "He was trying to get down _my_ pants last night."

"The point," Sano managed to ground out, his face turning pink, "is that you can't do that anymore. I have put in a request for you to move to a different safe house."

Kaoru sat up straight and glared at him. "What?"

"The _problem_," Sano growled as if she hadn't spoken."Is that Kenshin sort of vetoed the move so you have to tell him that you want out."

"I do _what_?"

"I understand that it's difficult, but it's really for the best and…" Sano stopped talking when he got a good look at her face.

"Let me get this straight," Kaoru managed in something like a reasonable tone. "I can keep him around as handy dandy body guard, use his money, live in his house, have him keep me safe from the situation that _you_ put me in with _your_ bullshit; now I have to leave because **you say so**?"

"Exactly," Sano sounded relieved that she understood.

Kaoru threw up her hands and stood. "I don't see why you think he what happened last night makes this anymore dangerous than it already is! Yes, he comes home most nights covered in blood, yes there is obviously things there that make me uncomfortable but he has never once put me in a situation I did not _thoroughly_ enjoy since I moved in. If you think for a moment I would let someone put their hands where I did not want them, I'll brain _you myself_. And finally, after living with you both for months I **fail **to see how your opinion matters at all!" She was shouting by the time she was finished. Sano stood with his hands clenched.

"He is the fucking _Battousai_ Kaoru. What do you _not understand about that_?" Sano finally bellowed, chest heaving as he glared at her.

"What?" Kaoru managed, shock softening her voice.

Sano groaned, raking his face with his hands. "You weren't supposed to know that."

"You're the one who just blurted it out like the Sunday News!" Kaoru snapped.

"Shit, shit, shit! Now you _can't_ go somewhere else! They won't bloody let you!"

"Don't yell at me!" Kaoru hissed, crossing her arms. "You're the one who just yelled it out. The fact that you _failed_ to mention this to me earlier really pisses me off, just so we are clear!"

"I thought it would be obvious!" Sano replied. "How many jobs can a man have that has him coming home in blood? Then there was that time… you do remember when we invaded your apartment? Well, the news said twelve police officers had died! Half a division! The fact that it was _fairly_ obvious it was Kenshin should have clued you in!"

"Don't you put this at my feet!" Kaoru said, her face turning red. "I fail to see how my kissing him last night told you I didn't know!"

"Because you wouldn't make out with Battousai!" Sano shouted. "I thought you were smarter than that!"

Kaoru stepped back like she had been slapped, her features going white.

"Sano," Kaoru finally managed. "That man saved my life. That's all I needed to know." Stepping around him she twisted her wrist violently when he reached out and caught her hand.

"Where are you going?"

"To work out," Kaoru growled at him. "It's either that or I break your nose!"

X

She was dripping with sweat when she finally beat the last of her temper out on the punching bag. It swayed even after she had stopped; she finally felt clear headed enough to consider the conversation from earlier without having the urge to tear Sano's head off either verbally or with Kenshin's brand new cast iron skillet.

Kenshin. She wasn't quite sure what bothered her more: the fact that he was Battousai or the fact that she didn't give a damn. After almost two hours of working kata and beating up Sano's punching bag, she could honestly say that she didn't know and that in the grand scheme of things it didn't matter.

Kenshin was sneaky, used underhanded tactics to win stupid competitions (even though they both knew she would win, anyway!) and an excellent kisser. The fact that even after her cold shower she had tossed for a good hour before falling asleep attested to that… well, either his kissing skills or how long since she had been properly laid. The fact that Sano had blurted out an identity Kenshin had obviously been keeping secret annoyed her but she could, after several hours of kicking things, understand why he hadn't told her. As far as she knew, _no one_ knew who Battousai was. His identity was one that was kept under lock and key and people had died over careless hints that they might know.

She _couldn't_ leave now.

Sano's statement had been a huge fucking surprise. Kaoru hadn't been aware that she had the option of leaving. Well, not for some time, anyway. The fact that she had to stay near Kenshin now (either for her protection or his) didn't change a lot of facts, just gave her a new problem to deal with.

Last night changed a lot of things and she still hadn't figured out how she was going to deal with that. She rather doubted Sano would care for her initial impulse, which involved her walking over and shoving her fingers into Kenshin's hair and pressing up against him to see how long it would take before he had his hands down her pants again…

Kaoru shook herself. She would have to find some other way of dealing with the situation. She really didn't have it in her to do the blushing maiden routine that would make Sano the happiest. Hell, if Sano annoyed her enough she might just walk over to Kenshin and grab him by his hair and show him a woman kissed a man.

Looking down at the way she sort of glistened in the light with sweat; Kaoru grimaced and headed to the stairs. Turning off the lights as she marched up the stairs, determined to get something to drink and then shower.

She was sweating like a _man_.

Walking into the kitchen, she rolled her eyes when she caught Sano's expression. Kenshin was holding the fridge open like he was looking for something. Running his eyes down her body slowly, he reached into the fridge and tossed her a water, and she smiled in thanks.

"No smiling either." Sano sounded grumpy. Kaoru lifted a brow. Grumpy was a long way from furiously scolding.

"Excuse me?"

Sano scowled at her. "I told him."

"Told him what?" Kaoru questioned, blinking in bafflement.

"His code name," Sano snarled.

"Oh that part." Kaoru shrugged and unscrewed the cap on the water and drank half of it in thirsty gulps. Taking it away from her lips she sighed in relief. "After two hours of beating imaginary roosters, I forgive you." She told Sano.

"Forgive me?" Sano repeated, sounded surprised, "For what?"

"Being an asshole," Kaoru said cheerfully before walking over and shoving a startled looking Kenshin away from the fridge. "If you're going to waste cold air, at least let me waste it while I try to cool down."

"I am not an asshole," Sano replied, his tone irritated again. "I am just looking out for you! You should not date men you can't beat up!"

Kaoru grinned at Sano around the fridge door. "Who says he won't let me beat him up?"

Sano and Kenshin both made faintly strangled noises. Shutting the door, Kaoru leaned against it, knocking several of the magnets onto the floor and not caring. "I continue to fail to see how any of this _really_ matters. You know I hate drama."

"I already explained things to him," Sano ground out. "Like how you don't want to date him because of whom he is."

Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Whoever said we were dating?"

"Exactly?"

Kaoru narrowed her eyes and pushed away from the fridge.

The satisfied tone in Sano's voice rubbed her already raw nerves so that all the relaxation from her workout had turned into tense muscles. Seeing red, she glared at the smug man at the table before spinning on her heel. Stalking forward, she ignored the widening of Kenshin's eyes and the way Sano said her name. Instead, she planted her hands flat on Kenshin's chest and shoved him against the counter.

She was _quite_ certain the only reason he moved was because he was startled, so she took advantage of it. Rising up, she pressed her mouth against his, kissing him hard and long before biting his bottom lip and pulling away. His expression was slightly dazed. Kaoru really wanted to know what Sano had told him before she came upstairs that he would be so surprised by a simple kiss.

"Just so we're clear," Kaoru told him before she stepped back. Sano's expression was poleaxed and Kaoru made a point to give him an impolite hand gesture before stomping down the hall to shower.

"When I get done I am going to want lunch," Kaoru bellowed down the hall. "One of you had better have it finished."

Feeling satisfied that her morning hadn't been a total waste, Kaoru went to clean up.

X

Kaoru sighed, flopping onto her bed with a sigh. Stretching as far across the mattress as she could, she groaned in relief as several popping noises met her motions. Starring up the ceiling, she considered her afternoon with a smug smile slowly forming on her lips.

Sano had been moping around all afternoon, making a point to shove his bad mood off on everyone else. She hadn't really paid too much attention to him, not when she had been on the receiving end of some very hot glances from Kenshin. That man had a way of looking at her…

She really, really wished Sano hadn't threatened to sleep on her floor. Well, she supposed it would be alright if he slept on her floor if _she_ wasn't sleeping in _her_ room. She doubted she would get away with that one. She scowled. Especially since Sano had come into her room and gone through her things, attempting to find anything that wasn't virginal and nun-ish and throw it away.

Kaoru perked up when she remembered the box of pretty under things hidden under her bed. She was far cleverer than she gave herself credit for! Granted, she hadn't been aware that she would have to sneak into pretty underwear, but she supposed it was a matter of whatever it took. Grinning at the thought, and trying to remember what her color options where, Kaoru pushed herself up into a sitting position. She blinked to find Kenshin leaning against her doorjamb watching her, yellow eyes gleaming behind long strands of his bangs.

"Sano is in the shower," Kenshin informed her, making no move to approach.

"Ah," Kaoru said with a faint grin, "I imagine he is breaking the sound barrier in his attempt to finish before you can do anything to traumatize his skittish roommate."

The corner of his mouth curved. "I put a chair in front of the door so I say we have about five more minutes." His eyes roamed her flannel clad body with a touch of amusement. "I had plans for our time, but you looked so cute all sprawled out and comfortable."

Kaoru refused to blush. Instead, she stuck her tongue out. "Was there something you wanted to talk about or were you just going to stare?"

"I wanted to make a few things clear," Kenshin admitted.

Kaoru lifted both brows in question.

"You need to know what you are getting into," Kenshin warned her. "There are things about me that you are not going to like and that I won't change."

Kaoru rolled her eyes. "As long as this isn't some sort of easy fuck for you, I'll manage. If you haven't noticed, I don't have much of a problem vocalizing things when I am upset."

"Vocalizing your issues with me won't necessarily change things," Kenshin said with a shrug. "I have habits that aren't easy to break and I have been in this business for too long to change to something else. Either you accept that half of my life or we don't take this any further."

Kaoru flopped onto her back. "Are you always this melodramatic or has being around Sano's pissy mood the past twenty-four hours installed that characteristic." She jerked, startled, as he was suddenly leaning over her, both arms braced on either side of her body.

"Kaoru," his voice was a warning.

"I am bossy, moody, cranky and very temperamental." Kaoru said with an eye roll. "I have trouble keeping a relationship for more than two weeks after I sleep with a man and I am a horrible, horrible cook. I throw things. I have the tendency to bite." She lifted a brow. "If you think I am going to be easy to be with, you need to get your head checked out. There is a little term we like to call a _relationship_. That means I put up with your shit and you put up with mine. Don't bring your job home with you, don't take it out on me and things might work out." She rolled her eyes again. "Besides, with all the time we have lived together, I think I have a little of your lifestyle figured out."

Kenshin watched her for long moments before the line of his shoulders eased. He was leaning down when the sounds of Sano bellowing caught their attention. "I suppose I will have to limit myself to a simple goodnight kiss," his voice was low.

"Don't strain yourself on my part." Kaoru drawled before his mouth brushed hers. It was soft compared to the other kisses they had shard, conveying affection more than lust and then he was gone. Kaoru pushed herself up on one elbow as she watched him walk out.

"Kenshin," Kaoru called, stopping him. "Who said we were _in_ a relationship, anyway?" She grinned at his expression. "Maybe I just like the way your ass looks in a pair of pants."

Pulling the covers back she flopped back onto the bed. She tried not to snicker as she realized he was still standing there. "Shut the door and turn out the light, you jerk! I am trying to sleep here!"

Kenshin muttered something and the door shut, just in time to cut off another one of Sano's bellows. She heard Kenshin call something and snuggled into her pillow. One thing was for sure, she sure wasn't bored.

* * *

**_Please Comment!_**


	32. Day

Written back in February '09 for J.D as a congratulations fic. =)

Ravyn

* * *

Damn demons always complicated things. Especially _him_.

It took a force of will to keep from lifting a hand nervously to check to see if the fancy mask was still covering her face – she already knew it was. Everything smelled faintly of what the maker had used to stiffen the cloth and she couldn't really see out of her peripherals. She _knew_ her mask was in place. No, what was making her twitchy was that if she was noticed – and in this crowd that was an _if_ – they wouldn't be looking at her with senses that would need to see beneath the mask anyway.

Because she knew he wasn't the only one hunting; could feel it in the pressure of the air.

It was hot, even without the press of bodies that a Masquerade brought to the streets. Even the heavy scents of hot ale and heavy perfume couldn't quite hide the smell of sweat and dirt. Out of the corner of her eye fabric, red and rich and obviously expensive, moved along with a body made for men to follow with their eyes. She supposed that was part of the fun too. You never knew what you would brush against – and you didn't dare brush to close or lose your purse to clever fingers.

But that wasn't her current problem, although at any other time it would have been a worry that lingered at the back of mind like lead. No, today it was the demons she could feel buzzing against her skin and into her bones and the gut wrenching knowledge that _he was here_ and looking. Biting her bottom lip nervously, she kept her body language in line with the boy she was disguised as. She had even managed to cut her hair.

The old burn scare on the inside of her left wrist was aching and she didn't dare lift her eyes to look around – something told her he was closing in. It would be near impossible to notice him in this crowd until he was too close. Long sleeves were common for the men and she was far from the only male who seemed to have spent most of his coin on an appropriately impressive mask, choosing to wear plain clothing that looked worn at the seams. All she had to do was slip into the ranks of the parade with the other barefoot gypsies and then disappear. She had already delivered the package and it was time to hide. She wished she felt safer here in the crowd but since she didn't dare let her magic breathe she just had no way of knowing where he was besides her gut. And it was tied into knots from the adrenaline from her earlier heist and the shock of finding herself in the middle of a gathering.

A faint breeze tugged at her bangs and if he hadn't been so deeply ingrained in fire she might have panicked. It was more likely that he was moving through the heat to trace whatever it was of her he could find – and the burn _hurt_. How had he known? What did he know? She wanted to slip into an alley and find a different outfit but the ashes and dirt in her hair would be difficult to remove without water and isolating herself for that sort of cleaning would increase her chances of being caught.

Feeling grim, she kept in time with the crowd, pausing at all the appropriate places to flirt or examine trinkets – she forced herself to stare at the woman. Not that there wasn't a lot to stare at, breasts and hips were on full display along with intricate and boldly worn costumes to bring attention to both. And the hair.

There was a flicker of motion and red from what little she could see from the corner of her eye. She made sure to stare at the pair of dancing twins with the same fascination as every other teenage boy in the area and only let herself look when the men next to her started in a way even a boy with fascinated hormones couldn't ignore. Turning her head, the knot in her stomach became a ball of hot, burning lead.

The left side of his face was hidden behind a mask, hiding the pale scar that had been there for as long as she had been aware of him. What she could see of his eyes told her that they matched the dark gold color of his mask. Red hair lightened by the sun was pulled away from high cheekbones and left to hang loosely around his shoulders and down his back. She knew the men around her had no idea why they were staring and she kept herself still, hoping he would look her over. She didn't think he would expect her to wear the façade of a young boy although she knew he expected her to hide within the crowd. What she worried about was that Misao had once commented all he needed to find her was the glimpse of her arm or hand in an open window.

And he was watching the crowd with tense shoulders and an alert expression that spoke of the usual meticulous attitude he had when it came to her. Her hands clenched. If he found her… This would be the third time. The last time. She didn't dare breath at the thought, worried that somehow he would know. Because he had promised her.

She had wanted to see the world. She had wanted to _breathe_ without him. And he had let her. Let her slip through his fingers and escape from his layer and explore and hunt and _live_. But he had chased her, because it wasn't in his nature to leave her alone forever. And when he had caught her…

She still tried not to think of it, left it sitting in the back of her mind like a piece of lava. It was too hot to touch without being burned and it was too uncomfortable to ignore completely. Better to think of the way he had watched her leave the second time, a lazy expression behind half-lidded, sleepy eyes and that small smirk tucked into the corners of his mouth.

He had made it clear over the years between that he would not let her go a third time.

He had almost caught her twice since and it had been only because of Misao's cleverness and love of escape routes that she had managed to evade him. It hadn't appeared to put him off, simply amused him. Because they both knew she was really only running because she could and eventually he _would_ catch her.

Her heart hammered in her ears.

_Mine, mine, mine, mine._

Because he had already ingrained himself too deeply into too many places of her soul; each move had been deliberate and had started long before he even laid siege to her guardian to win her betrothal contract. It was why he had let her go when she had ran from him in an attempt to learn her own heart and to see the world – he had already collected enough of her to keep her close and to catch her when his patience grew thin.

There wasn't exactly impatience to his body language but the intensity was drawing attention from humans and she almost scowled when she realized he was doing it on purpose. He wanted her to know he was stalking her.

_Bastard_.

She was worried that the niggling sensation she could feel building in the back of her throat would end up being a laugh or a scream. But having him this close… she mentally stomped all over the urge to flaunt her disguise. It was only a matter of time before he noticed her and…

The crowd shifted, pressed forward against each other in a sudden rush of panic that threatened to trample her. Staggering with the pressure that was building behind her as the crowd began to stampede their way through the narrow streets in panic, she forced herself through wedged bodies and lunged into an alley. A swift glance at the wall gave her a way up and she dug her toes and fingers into small handholds in an attempt to gain some leverage so she could _see_…

Because he wasn't the only damn demon here and she had almost forgotten that.

And she let her magic loose because that was a _gate_ and she needed to _go_ and sudden burning heat against her skin caught her just before she finished the spell. Turning her head she met his gaze as he ripped his mask off and stared at her. She stared back, heart hammering in her chest and stomach twisting into knots that had nothing to do with sulfur or layers and everything to do with his face and his eyes.

And then she dropped into her spell because she wasn't quite ready to give up. Not yet.

But maybe soon.

If he could catch her.

* * *

_**Please Comment**_


	33. Hate

Wow, it's been a little too long since I updated here. Shall try to get another one up this week.

Sequel to 030: Mate.

Ravyn

* * *

"You're a bloody _fool_."

Kenshin finally took his eyes off of the opening to the non-descript tent that he claimed as his own and cut a hard glance at the healer standing with her arms crossed and mouth pulled into a disapproving frown. Personal friend or not, her comments were starting to push his patience. It was only the unexpected gift of peace after weeks of soul rending _need_ that had allowed him to hold his temper in check. He could feel her against his spirit – hot and sleek, the impression of a cat twining around his soul while she slept and he held that close, using it to settle his strained emotions.

"They will be no lasting effects from your runes, Megumi."

She snorted, tossing her hair. "She's a _demon_."

The hot coil of temper that had lodged in his chest burned and he turned away, facing the tent fully. Sano had disappeared inside to check that the demon – his, _his mate_ – was still sleeping; giving him the time he needed to settle now that he could _think_. Megumi's comments were not unexpected – they would in fact be the normal reaction – but his control was slipping. He was growing tired of her continued reminders of what exactly fate had chosen to bind him with. Setting his teeth to keep from replying in a way that would infuriate his best healer – he turned his attention to the movements of the troops around him.

Judging their distance to the thin tent walls – she _would_ be _safe_.

It wasn't the first pairing of elf with a questionable partner – just the first he could remember being involved with a demon. He had denied what he had seen, what was _there_ until it was almost too late. Aoshi would probably never forgive him for forcing him to use cavalry magic and troops to collect his little demon, using himself as bait; but even now he could feel the pull of her. Could see the way those long, delicate hands had looked in the moonlight – sharp claws glittering bone-white as she worked. His fingers clenched into fists, blunt nails digging into his palms.

Her work as a body collector was not the worst that he had imagine but it was repulsive, that she would agree to take bodies to the temple to be mutilated for power after death. For his people who sang their own back to the paths of life, it was abhorrent. Yet those hands had haunted him for weeks, invading his sleep and driving him to admit the truth. Magic had made its decision and he could follow or reject it – accepting that he would forever walk alone, through this life and the next.

Megumi's tight voice cut into his thoughts.

"Well, I'm sure I can find a way to remove her horns for you – if we're lucky they'll be attached to her magic reserves and that will limit how much damage she can do. I don't think I can help her if she has a tail."

His temper snapped at his control. "That is _enough_."

The healer snorted, the annoyed sound conveying her feelings more than even her biting words.

The Elf General who mated a Demon.

His eyes closed wearily. At this point, he just didn't care. Fate had named her his, had ripped open his soul to make room for hers and… he had nothing left. Not anger at himself, at fate, at her for being what she was.

Demon – horns, claw, tail… his soul wanted her for its own.

X

Kaoru woke up in a tent smelling of elf magic. Head pounding, she kept her body and breathing as natural as she could manage. Her cloak was still in place – which meant they either didn't understand demonic runes or hadn't had the time or inclination to break them just yet. That meant she hadn't been here that long. Mouth dry with fear and rising panic, she cracked open her eyes in an attempt to see what was around her. The tent was clean, neatly packed and large enough to fit a small work table and several cushions. She was tucked into a corner and she still had her boots but the knife she had kept handy was gone. The memory of why she was here was hovering at the back of her mind and she closed her eyes, trying to work through a splitting head ache.

The first memory she had of her father was that of a tall, thin man with dark hair and bright, human blue eyes. The expression behind those eyes was grave. That was the day she learned she was tainted. She remembered a thin, dark shadow whose features she couldn't see declaring that she would never be more than she was and she didn't have enough power to be useful. To kill her and try again.

Kaoru had no memory of her mother – the one who had given her the demon in her blood.

Her first memory of elves was as a teenager, years after she had been orphaned and left by her father's family to rot in the streets. She remembered the look of disgust and the too-bright magic that had ate and _ate_ at her mind until the sun had set and she had fled. She had been found by a low-level demon colony that had taken her in and dropped her off at the nearest temple where she had been recruited for work her weak magic levels had allowed. For years she had existed carefully in that realm – working to stay close enough to the temples for protection but far enough out that she wouldn't be considered a suitable sacrifice for the gods.

They had caught an elf. Not just any elf, but the elf general… Battousai. Horror became tangible and hard to breathe through and she squeezed her eyes shut. No. Oh no… just… she had made it outside. After he had spoken to her – touched her with magic, thick like honey. Trap. It had been a trap and now she _was the prisoner of an elf_.

Letting her eyes wander the tent a second time, Kaoru searched for a way out. She winced and curled against herself at the sight of a particularly bright rune. That must have been what was guarding the door. She hoped there was another way out of here because she was afraid she would lose the contents of her stomach if she moved any closer to the brightness of the elven magic. Her human blood was some protection against the too-bright rune but her eyes were sensitive. Swallowing heavily, she breathed through her nose for several heartbeats, stilling at the sound of the canvas moving violently.

"Stupid red-headed morons… I cannot _believe_…"

The words faded into a dialect she wasn't familiar with and she held her breath. Maybe if she held perfectly still whoever this was would just… leave. She was unarmed except for her claws and what little magic she had was being… held away from her by _something_. Thankfully she was already hunched over; she strained to track the movements of the elf in the tent. There was a long, long pause when she heard nothing and her heart started to hammer in her ears.

The something brushed her shoulder and she jerked up and backwards. Startled brown eyes met her wild gaze and he swore, reaching her for. She flung her hood back to _see_, ducking under the hand reaching for her and lashed out with her claws. She didn't know where she was, how she had gotten here or _why_ but there was no way she was going to let them _touch her_.

The snap of canvas broke the flare of the ward that made it difficult to see past the sparks in her eyes and she scrambled backwards and away from the cursing shadow next to her. Blinking rapidly, she froze as her vision cleared and she realized who had walked into the tent. There was a healing cut along one cheekbone and his red hair was still tied back into that braid. Someone… someone had found him a tunic and the yellow in his gaze was going to swallow her whole.

X

He had heard Sano startled cursing and moved to deal with the problem, ignoring Megumi's comments as she followed. There was a loud, angry hiss that had to be from _her_ and he barged through the canvas. He smelled the blood before he had fully entered the tent and he bared his teeth; his temper a ragged thread and every instinct inside him was clamoring_ to_ _protect_…

He stopped several strides into the tent and the sound of Megumi's outraged cry and Sano's colorful cursing faded to the background as he drank in her features. His eyes locked on hers for the very first time – without cloak or distance to dull them – and the force of the connection rocked him back onto his heels. Under that ragged, spell made coat was a _woman_. High, sharp cheekbones mingled pleasingly with a small nose and soft mouth. Her eyes were huge – dark blue and surrounded by thick, dark lashes; currently too-wide with fear. What little he could see told him she was delicately built and vaguely he noted the _distinct_ lack of horns. The only sign of her demon blood was the split, cat-like pupils and those beautiful hands tipped in sharp, wicked claws – claws that were red with blood.

Which explained Sano's cursing.

She hissed again, the sound no elven vocal cords could make and back peddled away from them, fingers flexing. The lengths of those bone white claws were surprisingly delicate and the hot surge in his stomach was completely inappropriate. He took several; deliberate strides forward and she flinched.

"Leave us."

"Dammit, Kenshin – I was just _trying_…"

There was a muffled noise as he cut his eyes over, conveying without words that he would get an explanation later. The feel of her was rigid, a cat with its fur puffed out in fear and tension as it waited to see what its adversary would do.

Ruefully, he wondered as much as she.

Then she looked behind his shoulder and _flinched_, face pale as she rapidly blinked eyes that had caught and reflected the light – just like a cats. Frowning, he twisted his head and ground his teeth as he realized what had to be bothering her. Deliberately, he turned his back to her, placing his palm against the ward lines and pulling the power that had been sunk into the runes on the canvas, pushing the power into a shield that would keep everyone else _out_.

When he turned back around, she had scooted as far into the corner as she could, crouched down and watching him with wary eyes. She was trembling. Mimicking her position, he watched her from a distance.

"I have no intention of hurting you."

Her little claws flexed but she made no move to speak.

"I'm Kenshin."

Kaoru stared at the elf that had crouched down several feet away and was watching her with an expression she couldn't read. She refused to meet his gaze again, instead watching him carefully from her peripheral vision. Whatever magic had pulled her straight into his eyes and left her caught there until he lowered his gaze had shaken her. She could still feel the heat of that glance lodged somewhere low in her stomach and she wished she had a weapon.

If he was close enough to claw he was _too close_.

What did he want?

'_I am Kenshin.' _

Those words struck a nerve and she swallowed nervously, remembering his other declaration. The soft timbre of his voice was no less intimate than his voice inside her mind earlier. She shivered and scanned the room again, looking for a weapon or a way out.

"Are you hurt?"

When she refused to answer magic washed over her skin again, drawing up the bits and pieces that had refused to leave her shields and she felt the way it washed over her skin. Hissing, she scrambled to pull up enough defenses to keep him out.

"_Stop it_!"

To her shock she was breathing heavy and she felt the tears clogging her throat. She pushed even harder against the canvas at her back but it refused to bend. She felt rattled and off balance – both which would have gotten her killed before this. Pushing onto the balls of her feet, she pressed one open palm to the ground and bared her teeth.

Her eyes narrowed when she swore she saw the edges of his lips tilt, just a little.

Magic help him, she was _cute_. He would never have expected such a reaction from himself – but the tiny almost-fangs and claws reminded him more of a small, fluffed up kitten than an actual threat. He had no doubt that those claws had the ability to flay him to the bone, but what magic she had was tied up in the bond and stalking along his soul.

He wanted to cuddle her.

Carefully, he lowered himself into a cross-legged position, giving her an advantage if she chose to lunge. Her shift in temperament had not removed the sharp spike of fear he could feel lodged in her chest and he was determined to make some sort of progress with her before anyone else had a chance to interfere.

Like Megumi.

"My name is Kenshin." He repeated his words from earlier, carefully wrapping his tongue around the common demonic language. When she remained silent he continued.

"I welcome you to my tent. No harm will come to you here." He put magic into the words, turning the greeting into a binding and he saw as much as he felt her surprise but to his relief the tense line of her shoulders loosened a little.

It was clear that he wasn't going to leave her alone. Licking her lips, she kept herself alert but allowed herself to sink back onto her heels. She didn't trust this elf, but magic had rules. She didn't know why he was willing to commit himself to her protection – the elves greatest General – but neither did she understand why just looking at him left her with a feeling of safe. He was not safe.

"Why am I here?"

The words came out rough and she swallowed again. She knew very little of the elvish tongue and his words were careful as he spoke hers. She tried to remember if he had sounded that way earlier but she couldn't. Her work in the temples was low-level and nothing worth a general's interest… and the elves had won their ground. Frustrated, she curled her hands into fists wondering if she could hide the sudden way she trembled.

"You are here… because magic demanded it of me."

Kaoru frowned at him. There was truth there but it was not complete. She knew half-truths very well. She remembered the sharp-hunger in his tone as he broke through her shields at the arena and she shifted a little further from him. Warm, honey-gold or not, his magic was dangerous and even suggesting…

"By the ways of my people, it has given you into my keeping."

That rang true and she flinched, as if his words were a physical slap. Setting her chin, she met his eyes head on and dug her claws into her hands – the pain holding her back from tumbling back into the liquid warmth there. Panic was welling in her chest and she needed to control it. He could not be serious… the determination in his eyes was terrifying.

"Elves _do not_ claim demons."

Her words were bordering on hysterical.

"You are mine – demon blood or otherwise. I will not let you go."

Fear narrowed the band of her pupils and he worked to hold himself still as he caught the scent of her blood. Her face was pale and her blue eyes wide as she watched him. He swallowed at the rush of protective instincts that had his own hands fisting. He could only wait; muscles tight enough to snap as he held himself still while she started to pant.

When she finally spoke again, her voice was a strained whisper.

"_I am a demon_."

He closed his eyes. Her entire world was falling around her and he… carefully, watching her from beneath his lashes he allowed his magic to brush against her own. She flinched, eyes widening even further but he let his 'fingers' brush against the warmth of her, the image of the cat he held going still and careful.

Kaoru's heart jumped in her chest at that first, careful brush of power but the tight band that had been wrapping around her lungs eased just enough that she wasn't going to faint and she swallowed at another brush of honey-comb warmth. The tears that clogged her throat seemed to distress him and he took another one of those deep breaths of air through his nose.

Shutting his eyes for a long moment he found his center and carefully eased his magic around her distress, offering her his strength but not forcing it upon her. She trembled against him but made no move to accept or reject his touch. When he was certain he could control his emotions he opened his eyes again. He would give her the best answer he had.

"I do not care. You are mine – my magic has claimed you for itself and my soul has opened a place for yours. Whatever you are… whatever I am… this is what we are now."

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**_Please Comment_**


	34. Alarm

Author Note: This was written in an attempt to have a actual reason for Kenshin to be short…

Ravyn

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The spurting of candle wax pulled Kaoru out of her nap and she squinted into the darkness, trying to place the time. Her eyes stared blankly at the spot she had placed her little battery powered clock and scowled when the green-lights failed to break the darkness. Suspiciously, she sat up and twisted around, looking at the spot she had dropped everything (shoes, backpack, _pants_) before crawling into the soft haven that was their bed.

All of it was missing – which meant Kenshin was home and responsible for stealing her little clock. She bit her lip for a moment. She had expected word to get back to him she was on her way but she had thought he was out of state. Not that she particularly understand his brand of magic or what that meant for getting around. For a moment she debated just laying back down and letting him fetch her when dinner was ready, her eyes were still gritty and she _felt_ tired. Instead she rubbed her face until she felt awake-ish and crawled out from under the light blanket to see just how much of the closet had changed while she was away. There was only so much clothing she could keep in her little, one-room apartment on campus and even that was thinning down after over a year of thieving boyfriends on these weekend trips.

Besides, better to talk about why she visiting now than let it hang over her head all weekend. That would kill her appetite and she'd been living off of campus food or her dad's cooking for three weeks now and that meant mystery meat or canned Spaghetti O's. Or ramen. She was sick to death of ramen. Kenshin would be cooking tonight and she wanted to _eat_.

The stone floor under her bare feet was warm – an occurrence she hadn't gotten a straight answer on. Since she was fairly sure that the glitter she kept catching out of the corner of her eye in the candles was _actual veins of gold_ … she was picking her battles. The candle light was hardly enough to see by but she had to admit that he had a point about it bringing out the natural beauty of the work around her. She just wished it was something a little more _normal. _

The closet was a dark, black space until the door opened and a small, sputtering ball of light flared in the center of the room. She stared at it for a long time before a reluctant smile curved along her mouth. She didn't even want to know how he managed to arrange for a fairy light down here or so close to the bloody desert of all places, but he had. Even more, she knew he had done it for her. He didn't need it and fairy lights were not his favorite light source – she liked them for various reasons, the least being they were _pretty_.

Her faded, comfortable jeans were actually folded on a shelf, the ink stain on the thigh missing from its usual place. She stared at them suspiciously before pulling them back on, careful not to put her foot through the busted out knee. She didn't bother with socks or shoes – he would take it as a personal insult if she wasn't comfortable without them in this part of the house.

If she had known dvergr was synonymous for dwarf which was the same word as _stubborn_ she would have worked a lot harder to keep from falling for him. But she had been raised with a certain number of expectations and an elf-pretty dwarf was not one of them; even if he was a calloused, short, _tattooed_ elf-pretty creature. Besides, Kenshin was Kenshin, regardless of his magic. She had the impression if he had been human she _still_ would have found it impossible to get rid of him. Shaking her head, she headed to find him.

The house had taken a while to get used to; for all purposes, it was split into two layers – the half with sunshine and the half without. The upstairs was the exact opposite of its hidden counterpart – all glass and sunshine, with thick carpet and wooden floors. The lower levels were carved out of those curious gold-veined walls and the halls were lit with weird candles. A very few things about the Dvergar as a people were true, after all – dwarves _did_ liked living underground. It had more to do with letting the rest of the fey deal with humans than any particular fear of attack. If Kenshin was to be believed, it was also the reason they had encouraged the tales of their ugliness and temperament; eventually fading from the human folklore entirely. Although Misao had once declared over beer that it was more of an attempt to avoid having to share any of their precious gold and hand-crafted baubles with the prissy elven population than anything else. Kaoru hadn't really believed her until she had worn a pair of simple gold earrings Kenshin had made her onto campus. She had been stopped twice to ask who the crafter was and to ask if he was taking orders.

She ignored the staircase that led to the upper level, moving instead towards the room Kenshin claimed as his office. Unless she was upstairs then he was somewhere below, working in his workshop or dealing with whatever he dealt with in his office. She wasn't really interested – she'd seen the paperwork he generated. She was still trying to fumble her way through college math; she'd rather deal with the rest of it once she ran out of excuses.

To her relief, she hit the hallway the same time as Tae. Kaoru smiled at the Brownie who motioned her forward, a small smile on her face. Kaoru mouthed her thanks before swooping down and grabbing one of the two mugs of coffee and stealing one of the cookies. If this was going to degrade into one of those arguments, she needed the energy.

He looked up at her entrance and the wrinkle between his brows smoothed as she moved out of the way so Tae could push the cart in. He murmured something low and in a language that sounded vaguely elvish into the phone cradled against his cheek. _Her_ attention was caught by a new painting on the wall, the bright gold and reds distracting. Moving forward, she studied the bold lines. The door shutting pulled her out of her regard and she turned to face Kenshin.

His chin was propped up in his hand he was watching her with amused, inviting violet eyes. There was a touch of welcoming yellow at the edges but it hadn't bled through yet. Which meant he hadn't gone digging through her backpack when she was sleeping; what she wanted was to walk over and demand a hug. She couldn't help the way her heart hammered in her chest the way it always seemed to when she was near him and the urge to touch always left her a little bit breathless.

She still didn't know if she should thank the gods or curse them that this one was _hers_.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?"

"Someone interrupted by stealing my cookie."

Kaoru snorted and bit back into the cookie. For a moment she just let herself look – three weeks was a long time to be away, limited to phone calls and the little notes he sent with the flowers. It didn't help that he looked good enough to lick – white dress shirt rolled up past his forearms, collar open at the neck; hair pulled away from his face, showing the sharp angles and lines of his jaw. The strangely pointed ears. She didn't regret her decision to finish her education and to do it on her own… she just wished he was closer. The expression behind his eyes told her he was curious about her sudden trip to see him, she wasn't expected for another two weeks when she finished mid terms. That curiosity was the only reason he was still on that side of the desk.

"How long have you been home?"

His left brow arched and he leaned back, studying her from behind one of his assessing looks. Instead of looking away, she finished the cookie. It wasn't like her to feel nervous about something but she was hesitant to bring this up.

His eyes lowered to her throat and the edge of his mouth kicked up.

"You're not wearing the present I made you."

She scowled at him, setting the coffee down to dust her hands free of cookie. She knew exactly what he was referring too – the newest box in the wall-safe Misao had installed. From the size of the box, it had looked like he had created another decadent necklace for her. It would be a delicate thing of gold and bold jewels and utterly breathtaking. It really wasn't fair – she couldn't help that she liked shiny, pretty things. The fact that he kept deliberately _making_ these _pretty, pretty_ things for her… it just wasn't _practical_.

"I didn't even look."

"Now you've gone and hurt my feelings."

She crossed her arms and glared at him. "You can't keep giving me those things – it's not _practical_! The last one _was not_ something to be worn on campus! What if it's stolen?"

"It wasn't meant to be and I pity the fool who takes something of yours, darling." He smiled at her; an open, boyish expression. "I never thought I'd fall for a fairy that was _practical_."

"I am not your personal mannequin to drape in jewels!" She said trying a different tactic as she walked to the desk and pressed her hands against the smooth wood. Like everything in the house, it was just unique enough that it looked it was crafted by hand. "And you shouldn't have fallen for a _changeling_ like me if you had a problem with it – we've talked about this."

"Hmm, so we have."

"Just like we've talked about the fact that I can _certainly drive myself_ here when I want to visit," she growled. "I don't need a driver for a 45 minute trip!"

"Yes."

"You're so damn frustrating. Are all dwarves this bad?"

He snorted. "Honey, you're the one who thought I was an elf for the first three months that I knew you."

"That's because you _looked_ like one." She pointed at him. "You know you like to let people think you're an elf so you don't have to explain what you really are – you can't still blame me for spilling my beer on you!"

He stood smoothly, eyes glittering with humor and growing heat. "I certainly can."

"It's _certainly_ not my fault that I thought you were a prissy elf trying to get into my pants!"

His eyes bled gold and hot and he moved around the desk. "Oh, I was certainly _trying_ but I'm hardly a prissy elf, darling."

Anticipation snaked down her spine and she swallowed and moved in time with him, keeping the desk between them. If she touched him now, the conversation wouldn't happen for hours and she was determined. Three weeks was too long to wait to touch and be touched. He didn't seem bothered by her hesitation, hands going to his pockets as he angled his eyes behind his bangs.

She sighed. "I received an invitation from _them_."

The teasing light disappeared and she turned away to study a painting.

_Them_ – her birth parents who had expected her _real_ parents to abandon her as soon as they discovered the deception. _Them_ whose rage had been a tangible threat not a full year ago when they had finally found her family to the U.S and threatened her younger brother to gain her cooperation; they had never understood her determination to keep her real family. The idea that humans would accept a changeling daughter and raise her in a loving home was beyond them.

Warm hands slid along her shoulders and lips pressed against her temple as he pulled her back against his chest.

"What did they say?"

She looked at him and studied the edged expression behind his eyes. "They want me to come to… to my _sister's_ daughters naming ceremony."

The word _sister_ felt bitter on her lips. They shared a face – same eyes, same nose, small stubborn chin – but that was where all similarity ended. She'd never forget that cold, disapproving expression and the disgusted way she'd refused to see her birth-parents. That was fine with Kaoru. She had absolutely no intention of sharing a moment of her parents with that fairy-raised child. Leaning into Kenshin's shoulder, she pressed her nose against the soft fabric of his shirt and waited for him to speak. He was quiet for long moments, letting her relax in his arms. Once she felt settled, she took a deep breath. She needed to know what he thought and one fear had driven her the hardest as she sat in the back-seat of the car he left for her use.

"You don't think this is another ploy for me to marry what's-his-name, do you?"

She had half-expected his reaction and didn't resist when he tangled his fingers in her hair and tilted her head for his kiss. He tasted like coffee and chocolate – someone had sneaked in desert earlier. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into press of his mouth. It was hot and wet; possessive as he all but branded her lips with his. When he finally pulled back, she was breathing hard and thankful for the arm wrapped around her waist.

"You are mine."

Breathing in deeply, she twisted her hand so she could stare at the triangular tattoo on her left wrist. The red and gold of the ink was bright against her skin – a physical representation of the vow she had taken before the Dvergar tribes; something not even the Fair Court dared argue against.

Fisting her hand in his shirt, she stood up on her tip toes and kissed him lightly. The knotted muscles under her right hand eased at her lingering touch and she pressed her cheek against his, needing the contact. For a moment, she stood there before her toes started to ache and she leaned back and let herself fall the half-inch down.

"I thought we had settled that."

He smiled, almost-sharp teeth glinting as he moved hand to wrap a strand of hair around his fingers; brushing his nose against hers. "Yes. We did."

She frowned at him. "Then why this?"

"You are too beautiful to resist."

She snorted, frowning at him. "Flattery."

He shook his head, smile fond. "Darling, you underestimate the attraction others like you have for pretty, unusual things. That something as bright as you escaped will be bone in their throat for a long time."

"_I_ like pretty things." She wasn't sulking.

He leaned in and nibbled on her bottom lip for a moment. "Yet, you refuse my presents."

She growled at him. "That's because you have zero understanding for the word moderation."

He chuckled, the sound vibrating everywhere her body was pressed against his. "What is the point?"

She let her head drop against his collarbones and groaned. "It's needed for my sanity."

His hand slipped beneath her hair, nails dragging lightly against her scalp. She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand.

"Do you want to go?"

"No," she said flatly, opening her eyes and titling her head just enough to see his face. "But I didn't know if I had to."

To avoid them bothering her parents – she still didn't understand the full impact of being a changeling and what it meant for the dwarves that she had chosen them. There were political implications but there was also the straight up fact that she was created to avoid inbreeding. Her 'sister' was providing fresh blood and she was her human parent's daughter of their hearts. Whatever that meant for everything else she had no idea.

He pressed his forehead against hers and smiled. "Then we don't go."

She squeezed her eyes shut. "Thank you."

His teeth caught the edge of her ear suddenly and she shivered, tightening her grip on his shirt. She squeaked when her feet suddenly lost contact with the floor, knees draped along his forearm. She blinked at him and tried to ignore the way her early anticipation resurfaced in a head rush.

"I have homework."

"You can work on it later."

She hid a smile at the impatience in his voice by ducking her head. Token resistance given, she tangled her fingers in his hair, leaning forward to kiss the line of ink that started behind his ear and worked around the back of his neck. His breathe caught, rushing out in a hiss at the flick of her tongue. His muscles were warm and hard under her fingers as she slid them down his shoulders before taking pity on him and dropping her cheek against his shoulder. He was muttering in the rough, ragged words of his native tongue and she felt the last of her tension ease.

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_**Please Comment**_

**Dvergar - **or **Norse dwarves** (Old Norse _dvergar_, sing. _dvergr_) are highly significant entities in Norse mythology, who associate with rocks, the earth, deathliness, luck, technology and forging. They are identified with Svartálfar ('black elves'), and Døkkálfar ('dark elves'), due to their apparently interchangeable use in early texts such as the _Poetic Edda_ and the _Prose Edda_.

In later Scandinavian folklore, other kinds of nature spirits (_Vættir_), like the Troll and the Nisse, seem to take over many of the functions of the Dvergar.

A **changeling** is a creature found in Western European folklore and folk religion. It is typically described as being the offspring of a fairy, troll, elf or other legendary creature that has been secretly left in the place of a human child. The apparent changeling could also be a **stock**, an enchanted piece of wood that would soon appear to grow sick and die.

A **brownie**/**brounie*** or **urisk** (Lowland Scots) or _brùnaidh_, _ùruisg_, or _gruagach_ (Scottish Gaelic) is a legendary kind of creature popular in folklore around Scotland and England (especially the north, though more commonly hobs have this role). Customarily brownies (a type of hob – see _hobgoblin_) are said to inhabit houses and aid in tasks around the house. However, they don't like to be seen and will only work at night, traditionally in exchange for small gifts or food. They take quite a delight in porridge and honey. They usually abandon the house if their gifts are called payments, or if the owners of the house misuse them. Brownies make their homes in an unused part of the house.

_Notes_: Of course Tae is seen. Since I am playing with the idea that folklore is bastardized as the fae see fit to help hide, we can assume that brownies say that they are invisible to avoid slavery or being forced to do work by humans. Because humans don't expect *real* brownies to be seen, do they?


	35. Writer's Choice

This drabble is a Court Drabble. It follows #21: Friend, #22: Think and #25: Tired.

Hope you Enjoy!

Ravyn

* * *

'_Now that you have him, what do you plan to do with him?_'

Kaoru lay on her side, facing away from the door to her room. If her nose was telling her the truth, Kenshin was already up and cooking. Cooking. The edge of her mouth quirked in a faint, bemused smile. Who would have thought her that lucky? Misao was certainly going to be amused when she worked up the energy to make her way to visit. Lips thinning, she hoped that Kamatari and little Yahiko would have enough sense to keep Misao under heavy ward until she managed to get back on her feet.

The sound of the door opening pulled her out of her thoughts and she tilted her head to find Kenshin standing in the doorway, balancing a tray in his hand. He looked more relaxed than she had seen him yet; the ceremony last night before the priests had been simply to confirm the legitimacy of their contract but it apparently been enough to settle him.

She would think of that later when her head wasn't buzzing quite so loudly.

"You look half-dead."

Eyes narrowing, she decided to forgive him if that really was coffee she smelled.

Her silence seemed to amuse him and he padded forward, balancing the tray with one hand before helping her sit up and arrange the pillows before settling the tray on her lap. There were two plates piled with large omelets and thick slices of fried bread. Picking up his plate, he waited until she took the first bite before tucking into his own food.

As she had noticed before, he ate quickly and neatly. She wondered how much – if any – court experience had. Chewing slowly, she wondered if he would be offended if she asked. She wasn't sure if leaving a book or two on court etiquette would be _too_ subtle…

"You had a visitor this morning."

Kaoru considered her piece of toast before taking a careful bite. The man was surprisingly an excellent cook.

"Oh?"

Kenshin took another bite of omelet. "Mmm. He was a messenger for the Yukishiro clan. The message doesn't appear to be spelled."

Kaoru had to work to get the bread to go down her throat. Reaching for coffee he had brought, she took a tentative sip, mind whirling. Curling her fingers around the mug for warmth, she tapped her nails against the side of the mug for a moment.

"They've heard then."

He studied her face before nodding and motioning to her plate. "You should finish that."

Ignoring him, she took another sip of her coffee. This was superior to even what Kamatari made her. Still…

"Kaoru."

Startled out of her thoughts, she found him staring at her with eyes that she couldn't quite read.

"Yes?"

His mouth curled at the corner again and she was fairly certain he was laughing at her. "You need to finish eating."

She narrowed her eyes at him and considered the set of his mouth and shoulders. He looked like this was something he could be stubborn about. Setting her mug down, she picked her fork back up.

"You do realize in the contract, you made zero precautions against say – being turned into a frog." She didn't have to look at him to know he was surprised. Stabbing a bite, she popped it into her mouth and chewed, finally lifting her eyes to meet his gaze head on. Something flickered behind his eyes then that she couldn't place so she swallowed.

"The Yukishiro clan may be a problem."

Whatever he was thinking, he narrowed in on that. Setting his finished plate on the table next to him, he gave her his full attention. "Explain."

She was really going to have to get used to this direct manner of questioning. Using her fork to cut the remaining omelets into bite sized pieces; she tried to decide the best way to approach this.

"Would you be willing to share what you know about the Court?"

He blinked at her, head tilting just slightly as he considered her words. Then that smile was tugging at the corner of his lips again. "Yes."

Setting her fork down, she deliberately moved the tray off her lap and folded her hands, watching him. He watched back, completely relaxed. She wondered sourly if she had had the magic to turn him into a frog if he would have been so… so…

He was being really irritating. _On purpose_. Fine.

Taking a deep, calming breath – because years of negotiating in the court had taught her that picking up her tray and beating him over the head would only solve a temporary issue – she forced herself to relax. "Are you always this irritating?"

"Perhaps," he said finally. "I am used to a more direct style of conversation."

She nodded and refrained from informing him that such… tendencies would be frowned upon in public. Instead, she leaned back. "You are aware that the Yukishiro family has managed to position itself as closely to the throne as anyone without a direct line to either the Heir or Queen can be?"

"Yes."

She wondered if all their conversations would be like pulling teeth. "There has been… well, there has always been a distinct lack of peaceful relations between our two clans."

His face gave nothing away so she took a sip of coffee and continued.

"There has been a growing amount of pressure for our two families to have a showing that all hostilities have ended."

His left brow lifted. "Have they?"

"No." She shrugged. "Tomoe and Enishi Yukishiro are…" She struggled to find the words that would best describe them and failed. "I would have rather slit my own throat than let them anywhere near Misao."

"Ah."

She made a face at him and set her empty mug down. "What you need to know right now is that they had formally submitted a request to align our houses in a show of good faith. Taking you as my consort and agreeing to your terms for a child was not done to spite the Yukishiro's – the chances of them taking it that way for the chance of political gain is probable."

"Probable?"

"By agreeing to have your child I have rather effectively turned down Enishi's request to have his." She kept her tone without expression. "Doing so will have its consequences of course, but I only have to survive the next ten years without someone assassinating Misao and then whatever footholds they have managed to win themselves will disappear."

Every muscle in her consort's body had tensed and his eyes had shifted, angling a little at the corners. "By consequences…"

She shrugged. "It will depend on how high a threat they consider you. It is possible they will simply back me into a political corner and wait." She bit her lip before sighing. "You should know that as a clan, they are not above hurting a child."

She wasn't sure how she expected him to react, but to simply relax back into the chair was not it. Frowning at him, she tried to read him. He caught her expression and the smile he gave her was lazy.

"When the time comes, Kaoru, nothing will harm you or our child."

…

Kenshin washed the dishes on reflex than any real need to clean. If he listened closely enough, he could just make out Kaoru's mutterings as she worked in her study. The wards he had carefully put up hadn't triggered – so she wasn't working any magic. Yet. The likelihood of her reflexes reaching for what little magic she may have regenerated was high. The moment she tried it, he would know. Not that he thought she would get herself into a situation where she was as weak as that first night, but she had already proven that she would use what little magic she had if she thought the cause was important enough.

Amusement curled through him as he went over that morning's conversation. It was the first real one they had had since he had introduced himself. She had spent the day before the ceremony sleeping and only pulled herself out of bed and hour before to dress. She had shown signs of the spine that had allowed her to form two binding contracts out of thin air with nothing more than the dregs of magic; had allowed her to eat sitting straight up the first time he had cooked for her. But it was the little flashes of mischief and temper than he had just barely caught sight of that interested him.

Clearly his impression of a woman who was used to having her own way in all matters hadn't been wrong, but there was clearly more to it than that. She was trying to make him comfortable and working to adapt to the changes he had brought with him, even when she clearly wished to fall back onto protocol and etiquette to deal with him until she had a handle on him.

He had no intention of allowing that level of formality to shape a single part of their relationship.

Drying his hands, he considered his own reactions to her. The protectiveness he felt was a mixture of keeping his word and the instinctive need to protect he had never managed to fully bury. The sincerity of her intentions was surprising. He could honestly say the last seventy-two hours had been… enlightening. If this was the way that all the Kamiya woman treated those closest to them, then it was clear why those he had observed in his limited time around her people were so loyal. It might also explain why they were positioned so close to the throne. The Makimachi clan had always been closely guarded by the Oniwabanshu and from what little he had heard Shinomori discuss both the Queen and Heir, they were greatly loved by the organization.

The Yukishiro clan had the potential to be a problem. He made a note to discuss the situation with Shinomori soon. He didn't doubt that Kaoru would keep them away from the Court for as long as she could, but eventually they would have to make their appearance. He was considering several ways they could handle the reasons behind her sudden interest in male company…

If his instincts were right, then Kaoru had no intention of letting it be known that she was exhausted, drained of any mage ability and working to protect Misao's life. It was obvious that she had enemies – what was not clear was if they were working against her or attempting to take the life of the Princess. Before meeting Kaoru, there hadn't even been a hint that she was working to protect the Princess. What was known was that someone was helping the Princess stay one step ahead of her enemies in the Court… if it became known that it was Kaoru that they were facing…

Yes. Speaking to Shinomori would have to happen soon. He needed to know exactly what he was dealing with before he approached Kaoru. What little he had been able to pick up from her _chi_ and body language told him that she wasn't going to willingly place him in any more danger than explicitly necessary. Unfortunately for her, that was right where he was going to be. If her enemies were too busy targeting him to notice what she was doing it would perhaps buy her the time she needed to complete the protections she had mentioned she was building for the Princess.

If not… well, he had never been one to back down from a good challenge.

* * *

_**Please Comment**_


	36. Floor

This is a College!Drabble and follows #12:Borrow and #21: Friend.

Ravyn

* * *

'_Maybe if someone else makes it to Nationals, the fan girls will start bothering them._' Kenshin's mouth twisted down. A man could hope. Stepping into the elevator, he dropped his bag with a sigh and brought his hands up to rub his face, attempting to wake himself up long enough to take a shower. Bringing his watch down to eye level when it beeped he groaned; at 3 A.M. even Sano would be sleeping.

Even if he was certain his friend had absently mentioned a party. Frowning, he tried to recall if had mentioned Megumi…which might have meant that Kaoru would have come. Disappointment flickered through him at the idea of missing her. A faint smile quirked his lips as he considered the situation he was in with her. He didn't know whether he should be amused or just frustrated at her continued lack of understanding about their relationship. He was the first to admit that the movie hadn't turned out exactly as he had expected, but he couldn't say he had minded being her impromptu pillow or the way she smelled like flowers. He would give her a little more time before he spelled it out. Some things were just worth enjoying and the confused little blush every time he touched her hand or kissed her cheek was worth it.

Even if he had to refrain from other, more interesting ideas in the process.

Bending down to pick up his bag when the doors dinged open, Kenshin let out a low groan at the way his muscles protested and the thump of music echoing down the hall. Rubbing his eyes in an attempt to hold his temper, he moved down the hall and stubbornly ignored the music. He was tired enough that he might actually be tempted to go and yell at someone. The last time that had happened, there had been a few complaints filed with his Coach and he didn't feel like explaining himself again. Gritting his teeth, he pulled out his keys and unlocked the door, barely remembering to muffle his cursing when the scent of beer and sweat reached his nose.

Kenshin slowly blinked at the bodies strewn out across his living room; someone had even curled up on top of the table. Half of them he recognized by the sounds of their snores, the other half… he didn't. The fact that he had to pick his way across the floor set his teeth on edge; if he found some strange man sleeping in his bed like last time, things would probably get violent fast. He needed at least four hours of sleep before Sano woke up or there was no guarantee that he would be polite to the remaining guests. Opening his door, he set his bag down with a thump and tugged on his bangs before looking at the bed. Empty. Sighing in relief, he turned and shut the door; locking it firmly behind him before he turned to make his way into the shower.

There was a body sprawled next to his desk, curled up around a couch pillow. Long, black hair spilled across his floor and he stood there for long moments, blinking to make sure that he wasn't imagining things. As tired as he was, it was possible. Letting a slow grin cross his face, he shook his head. Only Kaoru would hide in his room to sleep on the floor.

_Right._ First relocate his sleeping non-girlfriend and _then_ take a shower. He needed hot water. Reaching down he carefully slid his arms under Kaoru's limp body and lifted her. She made a faint noise and wiggled closer, her nose pressed against his neck as she inhaled and he gave into the urge to smile again. Moving to the bed he reached out to pull the covers back when she moved again, this time the noise coherent.

"Wadda…" Kaoru mumbled, her head falling off his shoulder and onto his arm so he found himself starring into sleepy blue eyes.

"I don't think my floor is the most comfortable place to sleep," Kenshin told her as he settled her on the bed. "I'm putting you to bed."

"Loud," Kaoru grumbled, her eyes closing. "Stupid Sano."

Kenshin swallowed a laugh. "Go back to sleep, honey."

Instead of answering, she tucked herself around one of his pillows and made an agreeable noise. Kenshin watched her for a moment before turning and heading into the bathroom, intent on taking the fastest shower of his life. By the time he walked back out, clean and relaxed, she had kicked the covers off and sprawled out across the length of his bed, one leg hanging off the mattress. Rolling his eyes, Kenshin pulled the covers back up and settled next to her, picking his second pillow off the floor and carefully rearranging her limbs.

"I would sleep on the couch," he told her as he managed to shift her position a little. "But there is a loud hairy man who I just don't have the patience to deal with."

X

Kenshin woke to the loud sound of Sano yelling for someone to grab the fire extinguisher. Blinking slowly, he growled in protest as someone rattled his door handle. Curling one arm around the waist of the woman using him as in impromptu pillow, he cracked one eye open. Kaoru had wrapped herself around his torso, one arm trapped underneath his stomach, the other wrapped around his back so her hand was wrapped loosely around his bicep. The sprawling way she had taken over his bed when he had been in the shower apparently now included his body as well. Kaoru shifted so that the slide of her legs tangled in his became apparent; Kenshin lifted himself as high as he could without disturbing Kaoru and looked down. Apparently, she had kicked the blanket to the edge of the bed again.

'_Note for the future,_' Kenshin thought in amusement. _'She can be clingy in bed.'_

Shifting to move away, he stiffened when she wiggled closer, the noise coming from her throat unhappy; he swallowed when she slipped her hands under his shirt and fisted her fingers in it, moving until her mouth was pressed against the skin of his throat.

"Honey," Kenshin muttered, sliding over until half of him was hanging off the bed. "You're going to have to let go."

He managed to untangle her fingers and hit the floor with a dull thump. Groaning, he rolled onto his back and glared at the arm hanging off the bed. There were loud grumbling noises, some rustling and then the arm disappeared. By the time he had pulled himself up she had sprawled onto her back and her braid was wrapped around her throat, her lips parted as she breathed.

Pushing himself to his feet he decided to do the honorable thing. First, check on Sano and make sure he wasn't burning his kitchen down or ruining the pans he knew better than to use. Second, distract himself until Kaoru woke up so he didn't crawl back into bed and nuzzle her neck until she woke.

It took several moments before he could get his feet to work.

* * *

**_Please Comment!_**


	37. Fail

This is a College!Drabble. It follows #12: Borrow, #21: Friend and the previous drabble!

Ravyn

* * *

Kaoru sat on one of the many benches on campus tucked under an assortment of trees; she supposed they were to give students a chance to sit quietly in the peacefulness of nature. Huffing out a long breath, she glared at the quiz held tightly enough between her fingers that her knuckles were white and the paper was crinkled. The letter at the top of the page was written in gigantic purple ink instead of the usual red; red was almost comforting compared to this. At least with red you knew that whatever lay before you – it could be bad. Purple… purple was the royal color and comforting; the color of dusk and sleep.

If she just glared hard enough, perhaps she could make the evil mark go away.

"Hey, fancy seeing you here." Kenshin's lightly teasing voice cut through her growing rage and Kaoru lifted her face to see him bent slightly over so he could smile at her, a black backpack slung casually over one shoulder and a Styrofoam cup cradled between his hands. The warm liquid was probably to ward off the cold of the slowly deepening clouds. It was going to be cold enough to snow soon.

Kaoru considered his smile. Open. Friendly. Disgustingly unhelpful. Standing up, she picked up her own backpack and shouldered it. Turning on her heel, she started the march to the Math building.

"Kaoru?" She was forced to stop when he tugged lightly on the hood of her sweater, rocking her back on her heels.

"What?" Kaoru's voice was snippy and she felt bad for it, but it was cold and she was dealing with a crisis! Granted, the crisis was simply a manner of how many pieces she could get away with breaking her tutor into…

"Something wrong?"

"Won't be for long," Kaoru assured him. "I am going to go brain someone and then I will feel _much_ better."

Kenshin stepped around her, blocking her path with a brow lifted in question. Kaoru knew that expression. That was the expression he had worn when he forced her to have coffee with him two days ago because she had been caught out in tiny sprinkle and gotten just a tad wet, insisting that she needed to warm up.

Kaoru blew out a breath that ruffled her bangs.

"I am having a bit of a struggle getting back on my feet in my calc class after being sick for a week," she finally admitted when it looked like he was neither going to let go of her sweater nor move. She wondered if anyone had ever experimented with his moods before. Perhaps his girlfriend had some tips on how to deal with him when he got stubborn. Tips that involved non-smooching suggestions.

"So I have been going to a tutor and apparently I somehow managed not to learn a damn thing."

"So your plan is to brain the tutor?" His voice was even, but the corner of his mouth twitched.

"You're right," Kaoru admitted. "Braining him is a bad plan. He obviously is lacking something there; much better to kick his ribs in."

He gave up the fight on his smile then and she gave him a grumpy stare.

"Why don't you come back to the apartment," Kenshin offered. When her expression remained flat, his smile widened.

"I have hot chocolate," he coaxed. "Sano is gone for the afternoon so it will be quiet and I can look over that quiz for you. Remember," he pointed out when her face became even unhappier. "I had that class last spring. I might still have my notes."

Kaoru gave in. Notes were completely against her willpower.

X

"I hope you don't mind peanut butter?" Kenshin asked, setting down the tray with two mugs of hot chocolate with whip cream and a plate of peanut butter cookies. Kaoru blinked at the offering before snagging a mug and snuggling backwards into the fluffy pillows on the couch. Calculus did not deserve her happy chocolate time, yet it needed to be done. Kaoru leveled him with a morose glare until Kenshin picked up the quiz, obviously hiding a smile. She sipped consolingly on the delicious treat while he picked up a pencil and started to write on the crinkled paper.

"You didn't do too badly," Kenshin said finally, tapping the pencil against his bottom lip. "You just mixed a few rules, that's all. It's fairly fixable." He scooted over until their legs were touching and settled the book he had placed the quiz against onto both of their legs.

"See?" He slowly went through the first equation, showing her what she had done and then showing her the corrections.

Kaoru set the mug down and leaned closer to his shoulders, chewing on her bottom lip. "What did you do again?"

The discussion went on until he had gone through each problem twice, carefully pointing out her mistakes and writing out the correct formula's to the side. Once she felt far more comfortable with the unnecessary foreign language that was math, he disappeared into the bedroom and came back with a worn binder labeled Calculus I. Kaoru had taken advantage of his absence to finish the warm chocolate and eat two of the soft cookies. She wasn't sure how, but he managed to coax her into pulling out that weeks homework and walking her through the areas she was having trouble.

She thought it might have something to do with the cookies.

Kaoru had no idea how much time had passed until Kenshin stood to turn on a lamp, both of them having apparently missed the setting of the sun.

"Oh crap," Kaoru wailed, hurriedly stuffing papers into her book and shoving everything back into her book bag. "It's my night to come up with dinner!" She paused and then sighed. "Which means by this point Megumi has ordered a pizza and is going to demand I reimburse her."

Kenshin lifted a brow, eyes glancing at a clock. "It's not even six yet."

"Oh," Kaoru flushed slightly, standing and forcing herself not to grab another cookie. Darn him for having edible junk food readily available. "Cooking isn't one of my strong points and the standard rule is if I am late, she orders take-out. Unfortunately, her idea of late is um… well, as soon as she walks in the door and sees I'm not home."

Kenshin shoved his hands in his pockets, something warm hovering in his eyes.

"You are welcome to stay if you want," he offered. "I can cook while you finish that homework."

The welcome expression left her staring until she realized what she was doing and she jerked her eyes away. '_He has a girlfriend, Kamiya_!'

Kaoru waved her hand, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Thanks, but I should be getting back. I have some other things I need to work on. Besides, I have taken up more than enough of your time."

"I don't mind." Kenshin assured, walking to the door as she moved to leave.

"You might not," she said with a smile, twisting so she could get by him and moving into the hallway. "But your girlfriend probably does. See yah!"

Kaoru trudged down the hallway, ignoring the faint laughter that echoed down after her.

* * *

**_Please Comment!_**


	38. Disgust

This is a Mob!Drabble! It falls after #9: Cold, #15 Cheat and #31: Hot.

Ravyn

* * *

Kaoru could handle being ripped out of her life. She could handle living with an incredibly sexy redhead who occasionally shot her heated looks that made her pulse jump and her stomach tighten with anticipation. She could handle the blood and the endless hot water. The hot water could even be considered a _bonus_. Actually, now that she thought about it, the redhead could be considered a bonus too…

She absolutely refused to deal with Sano's socks. There were some things that only his mother and some _god of foul things_ would touch; his socks were one of them. They were second only to his sheets.

He was growing his own ecosystem. She wasn't sure they didn't walk around on their own when she wasn't looking. She could bury them with the plants and they would act like fertilizer… or some form of poisonous mould. She hadn't decided which. Or which was worse.

Either way, not even the offer of ten free minutes with Kenshin in a dark closet would get her near those socks… not that she was thinking about ten minutes in a closet with Kenshin and his mouth and hands and tongue…

And Kenshin could just deal with it.

* * *

**_Please Comment!_**


	39. Knife

This is a Mob!Drabble! It falls after #9: Cold, #15 Cheat, #31: Hot and the previous drabble!

Ravyn

* * *

Sano was like a puppy that had his favorite bone stolen. Which was amusing, because Kaoru had always carried the mental image of Sano's inner animal being a rooster, not some kicked fuzzy, fat puppy with big eyes. Regardless of her own inner amusement, Sano was _not_ amused. He only left the house when Kenshin did and Kaoru was quite certain that he was bribing a neighbor for a phone call because he walked in the door no later than ten minute after Kenshin. A lot could happen in ten minutes, but Kaoru refused to touch a man who smelled like blood or another woman. Kenshin could only shower so fast. The furthest she had gotten was a warm hug or interesting brush of his fingers before Sano was bursting through the door like an avenging angel.

Kaoru was starting to get a little pissed.

There was only so much sexual tension that a girl was supposed to put up with before she took matters into her own hands. Unfortunately, Sano seemed to sense her growing hostility and was sleeping on the couch so that she couldn't lock him in his room. The fact that Kenshin seemed to be equally as frustrated did wonders for her temper. While she _had_ decided to give Sano some time to get out of his snit, it didn't mean working herself into exhaustion every day so that she didn't have the energy to wring his neck was going to last very long. He was her best friend but she really wanted him _to go away_.

Kenshin had been gone for close to forty eight hours and she was _bored._

Which was probably why everything went to hell in a hand basket.

It couldn't have been half-an-hour past after she had flopped onto the couch in sheer frustration when Sano barged in with a small woman cradled in his long arms, blood dripping off both of them so that she just knew she was going to have rip the carpet up and replace it. The fact that he took the girl straight to _her_ bed surprised her, but she didn't argue, pelting after him to strip the bed down to her bottom sheet. "What happened?"

"Fucking sold out," Sano managed to grit out. "I can't get the bleeding to stop. I have to call Meg, you take over." Kaoru found herself holding field bandages down with her hands as Sano wiped his bloody hands as well as he could on his own shirt before snapping open his cell phone and punching in a speed dial number so hard she was surprised he didn't crack the screen.

Kaoru attempted to figure out what had caused the bleeding and failed. From her position it was impossible to tell if the girl had taken a bullet or just been knifed. She could understand why Sano hadn't been able to take her to the hospital but Kaoru hoped they could get her somewhere for medical care because she didn't think the unknown woman could afford to do much more bleeding.

Sano came back in, his features grim. "Megumi will be here in five, faster if Shinomori is driving. Dammit!"

"Who is she?" Kaoru asked, not moving her hands from where they were applying pressure.

"An undercover agent. I wasn't even supposed to be near her assignment, damn lucky I was." Sano said, running his sticky hands through his hair. "I'm not even sure what went wrong, just that she was running down the street and bleeding everywhere."

Kaoru nodded and considered the small boned, almost pixie features of the woman lying on the bed. She didn't know what to say to Sano to make him feel better so she didn't try. Either the girl got medical attention and lived or she didn't. The sound of the front door slamming open caught her attention, along with footsteps running down the hall. Kaoru looked up to see a pale-faced woman rush in. She guessed that was 'Meg.'

"I have it from here. Good job, go wash up, Sano get over here and do something useful."

Kaoru didn't particularly argue as she was shooed from the room. She almost crashed into a tall man with eyes as cold as winter skies, his face set in smooth lines that somehow managed to convey more emotion than even Sano's. Kaoru stepped by him and decided to stay out of everyone's way. She didn't have any training besides basic CPR and really hoped that it wouldn't be necessary.

"Move lady!"

Kaoru flattened herself against a wall to keep from getting flattened by several men bringing in what looked like equipment; four of them each carrying what looked like supplies, one of them even had an IV in his hands. Kaoru watched with wide eyes as they made four trips, apparently setting her bedroom up into a portable hospital.

Shaking her head, Kaoru finally managed to wiggle her way past all the bodies and into her kitchen to wash her hands and then set herself up in the living room to stay out of the way. Part of her wanted to know _what the hell was going on_ but she didn't feel that it was any of her business to go and bother someone who might be saving that girls life.

Eventually people started to filter into the sitting room. Some of them left, taking some of the unexplainable vehicles away from the home, but they eventually crashed in the living room. Kaoru found herself pinned between two big bodies.

"So you're the Kamiya girl," one of them asked, obviously his attempt at being nice. Kaoru gave a brief nod and wondered if she should offer them something to drink. A girl sat herself down with a glass of fruit juice in her hand so Kaoru changed her mind; they obviously knew their way around.

"Sano didn't say you were shy," the woman said.

"I wasn't aware that I was," Kaoru replied, attempting to smile.

"Don't worry about Misao," the man next to her said, his blonde hair twisted upwards in a curious fashion. "She is a fighter. The girl just got Shinomori to pop the question; I doubt she is going to let something as simple as death keep her from that wedding she wants."

Kaoru just nodded and considered the expressions on the faces around her. They were worn and held lines that spoke of deep concern, but there was no mistrust. She wondered if it was because she was living with Kenshin or because Sano had really opened his mouth recently. They conversation continued around her after that and Kaoru was getting a little sick of being talked around when they suddenly stopped. Kaoru turned and realized the tall man from earlier with the cold eyes had walked in.

"Cho, Omasu… report back to headquarters. Misao made an emergency phone call before Sano picked her up, it should have information on it. Run a background analysis and report back here in an hour."

The body to her left disappeared along with the woman in the room, leaving her with the extremely short man and the one who looked like he did some sort of body building.

"Shikijō you and Beshimi will act as guards tonight. Make sure no one unauthorized enters or leaves this house." Kaoru met his eyes squarely when they landed on her but he obviously had nothing to say to her and that was fine with Kaoru. She couldn't think of any sort of polite conversation that wouldn't sound ridiculous anyway.

Kaoru stood and decided to load the dishwasher and then to crash. She wasn't doing any good and it was obvious that while her presence was being tolerated, she wasn't exactly on their top list of people to trust. Doing the dishes made her feel useful and she hated going to bed with dishes in the sink. They taunted her all night.

Since Misao was being operated on in her bed, the only other option was Kenshin's room. She didn't trust Sano's bed as far as she could throw it. There was no telling when the last time Sano had washed his sheets, Kenshin was finicky about his laundry; Kaoru stayed on top of hers only because she didn't have anything else to do.

Opening the door to his room, Kaoru blinked several times to adjust before she went and turned on the lamp next to his bed. She was thankful she had already brushed her teeth before Sano came barging in. Her clothing was splattered in blood from Sano forcing her to take over the pressure bandage so she dug through Kenshin's dresser to find a shirt. Once she made sure the door connecting to the hallway was shut firmly she crawled under the sheets and rolled her eyes. Figured the man would have black, silk sheets. Highly amused, she did her best not to picture how Kenshin would like in the bed with her. Shaking off the thought, Kaoru turned off the light and snuggled into one of his pillows, breathing in the scent of his cologne and shampoo.

It took a while to fall sleep, the hum of the machines down the hall and voices rising and falling distracting her even in the Kenshin's bedroom. Eventually she managed to fall into a half doze, every loud sound waking her for the next few hours until things fell into an odd silence that allowed her to find a deeper sleeping pattern.

She woke to a loud banging noise inside the house and sat up, looking around the room. Light was sneaking in from the window and Kaoru swung her eyes to the clock, groaning when she realized it was only a little past seven. Rubbing her eyes, she blinked when realized there was a bag on the bed. She was still starring at it in befuddlement when the door opened. Turning, she blinked at Kenshin who looked surprised to see her awake.

"You should be sleeping," Kenshin scolded as he walked over, brushing a hand through her bangs. "It's still early."

"When did you get home?" Kaoru questioned, sitting up a little more. "Is the girl alright?"

"A few hours ago. Misao is going to make it but it was touch and go for a little while. She is going to be fragile for a while so Aoshi is moving a cot into your room and staying with her. Megumi will be staying in Sano's room to be close at hand so were going to have a houseful for a while."

Kaoru nodded. "I should probably get up then," she said, lifting a hand to cover a yawn.

"I don't see why," Kenshin commented. "They know their way around the place. I didn't get in until almost four and you hadn't been in bed that long, Kaoru. Get some rest."

Kaoru eyed him. "Are you saying this because you want me to sleep or because you want me to sleep in your bed?"

"I'll never tell," Kenshin said solemnly. "I'll probably join you once Aoshi finishes droning on with his report." He winked and pulled the covers back up to her waist. "Sano says you did really well last night."

"I avoided people," Kaoru contradicted, allowing herself to be tucked back under the covers. "Tell Sano he gets to buy me a new mattress since the one I was using is covered in blood now."

"I shall pass the message along," Kenshin promised as she buried her nose in his pillow.

"I can't sleep with people starring so go away," Kaoru growled at him as he continued to stand by the bed. He laughed but the sound of the door opening and shutting sent her to sleep with a faint smile on her face.

Kaoru woke up a third time to the sun coming through the curtains and a solid body next to her. Kenshin had wrapped an arm around her waist and tangled his legs up with hers. Snuggling a little firmer against him, Kaoru tried to figure out what had woke her up. Hearing what sounded like a crash from the kitchen she sighed and wiggled her way out from under his arm. She looked over to make sure she hadn't woken him to find a sleepy set of cat eyes watching her.

"Go back to sleep," Kaoru ordered, rolling out from under the covers. "I am going to make sure no one burned anything down." She guessed he hadn't slept much over the past few days because he did as she ordered; closing his eyes and apparently drifting back to sleep.

Kaoru headed into the kitchen and found a strange sight. The man named Aoshi was sitting at the table, drinking what looked like a cup of coffee and reading the paper, the lines of his face having smoothed out a little. The one Sano had called Meg was eating what appeared to be a bowel of ice-cream, her features drawn and tired. Sano was the reason she had woken, he had apparently dropped one of the ceramic bowl and spilled milk and cereal everywhere. Kaoru decided to ignore Sano and poured herself a cup of coffee, snapped up a granola bar, and set down at the table.

"Ice cream, the breakfast of champions?" Kaoru questioned once she had taken a drink of her life blood. The woman looked startled but a smile curved the edges of her lips.

"It's a bit of tradition," she explained. "I'm Megumi."

"Kaoru," Kaoru offered, aware that everyone in the room probably knew who she was on the basis that she was the face they didn't recognize her. The woman gave a polite nod and both of them turned as Sano dropped into a chair, a bowl of cheerios drowning in milk before him.

"You," Sano said, pointing a finger at Kaoru, "are in trouble."

Kaoru un-wrapped her granola bar and rolled her eyes, deliberately ignoring him.

"You slept in his bed! With him!" Sano continued.

"That," Megumi broke in, sounding amused, "is what people in a relationship _do_, Sano."

"Oh Kenshin and I aren't in a relationship," Kaoru assured Megumi, smiling at the woman's suddenly baffled expression. "However," Kaoru pinned Sano with a look. "If I want to crawl into his bed, I can. If I want to have hot, wild, steamy –" Sano's expression was green as he waved his hands frantically. "_Sex_, I can. So stay out of it." She took a bite from her granola bar and chewed happily. She caught the expression on Megumi's face and swallowed.

"Yes?"

"You're not in a relationship with him but you're sleeping with him?"

"Technically it's none of your business," Kaoru told her cheerfully. "However, no, we haven't had sex and no, we aren't in a relationship. But I am sleeping in his bed since mine is occupied."

"You can sleep on the couch." Sano interrupted.

"There are people moving in and out of this house at odd hours," Kaoru told him in an exasperated tone. "Why would I sleep on the couch?"

"You can have my bed." Sano tried.

"Megumi, the brave soul, is staying on your spare set of sheets on your bed and needs her privacy so she can sleep when isn't tending Misao." Kaoru corrected. "I am sure Aoshi agrees with me."

The man didn't make a sound but Sano frowned. "You can sleep in the basement!"

Kaoru threw her granola bar at him and watched it hit him in the head with a satisfying noise. "I am not sleeping somewhere that smells like dirty socks!"

Megumi scooped up another spoonful of Karou's precious cookies and cream ice-cream, her expression thoughtful. "So, the expression on Kenshin's face last night when Cho mentioned that Kaoru was asleep in his bed meant what?"

"Absolutely nothing," Sano said fiercely. Kaoru rolled her eyes and stood, taking her coffee mug with her. Reaching into the cabinet she pulled down another mug and filled it.

"What are you doing?" Sano demanded, turning around and glaring at her.

"Well, Aoshi has been tossing looks at the hallway for the past five minutes, so I can assume he is hoping that Kenshin wakes up soon. Plus, someone just pulled into the drive which means Kenshin probably needs to get up, so I am taking him coffee and drinking my next cup with him so I can avoid pointless conversations with you." Kaoru told him with a smile. "Plus I need to change clothes. So, I suspect Kenshin will be out in about ten minutes if that person is indeed waiting on him," she told Aoshi.

She shrugged at Sano's expression. "Learn to multitask, chicken head."

"Hey!" Sano complained, moving as if to follow her but stopping when Megumi put a hand on his wrist, her features twisted into an expression Kaoru couldn't decipher. Deciding to ignore them, she walked down the hall.

Kenshin hadn't moved from where she had left him and Kaoru felt bad about waking him. She set both mugs down onto the dresser and crawled back onto the bed, knowing that he was awake.

"Come on sleepy head, there is someone here to see you," Kaoru scolded, bouncing the bed a little. "I brought coffee."

Kenshin gave what sounded like a sigh before opening his eyes and pushing himself up. Kaoru eyes his features with a frown, noting the dark circles under his eyes.

"You know," Kaoru said as she handed him his mug, ignoring the way he lifted a brow at the dancing elephants emblazoned on the side of the cup. "You really need to try to sleep more tonight. You have dark circles under your eyes."

"Thank you," Kenshin replied, taking a long sip from his mug. He waited until she had secured her own mug before pulling her against his side, keeping an eye on the liquid sloshing at the sides.

"This is surprisingly domestic," he teased after several minutes of silence and sipping on their drinks.

"Don't get used to it," Kaoru warned. "Someone else made the coffee. Anyway, I told them you would be out in ten minutes or so, so you better finish that fast if you want to shower before you go deal with the cavalry."

Kenshin's response was to rest his forehead against her shoulder for a long moment and sigh. "I need to shower too you know," Kaoru warned him. "So you better get going."

"Wanna join me?" Kenshin offered.

Kaoru snorted. "You're going to have to work a little harder than that if you want to see me naked." She poked his thigh. "You better get moving. Aoshi was already fidgeting when I left."

Kenshin pulled himself away and downed the rest of his coffee. "Aoshi doesn't fidget."

"Well, he kept sending these looks at the hall like he couldn't believe you were sleeping," Kaoru admitted. "I'll change clothes and then take these mugs to the kitchen and take the shower later. You get moving." She jabbed him in the ribs and he gave another sigh before rolling off the bed and pulling his shirt over his head.

"You sure you don't want to join me?" His voice was teasing but his eyes were a serious, warm gold.

"I told you," Kaoru said with a smile. "You get to work for it." She let her eyes wander his shoulders and chest. "Now get going, standing there half naked isn't going to change my mind."

Kenshin pouted. Kaoru decided that men should not have the ability to use their lower lip in that manner while their eyes retained that mischievous glint. Shaking her head no, Kaoru picked up the bag and started rifling through it to see what Kenshin had brought her from her room. He sighed heavily but went and climbed into the shower.

Although he left the door cracked open in obvious invitation. Kaoru changed into a pair of jeans and a clean sweater before grabbing the mugs and moving back into the kitchen to clean them. The table will full and Kaoru blinked in surprise when she realized that sitting in her empty chair was the largest man Kaoru had ever seen.

His thick hair was pulled back into a tail at the nape of his neck put several strands had fallen back around his features, and messy bangs fell into his eyes. He looked up as she walked in and considered her for long moments, something about his gaze setting her teeth on edge but Kaoru managed to keep her mouth shut. She was about to walk out when he finally spoke.

"Kamiya," Kaoru turned, lifting one brow in question. "You might as well stick around for this. It's going to involve you as well."

Kaoru blinked.

"Go get extra chairs," the man ordered Sano, drilling him with his eyes. "You live here and she shouldn't have to carry anything."

"I am perfectly capable of carrying my own chair." Kaoru pointed out.

"I said you shouldn't have to. Hard labor is reserved for idiots." He replied, his voice bored, his eyes glittering in an almost familiar manner.

Kaoru took the chair that Sano brought her and sat down. The conversation was nonexistent and the big man kept watching her with considering eyes. Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, Kaoru turned and waited for Kenshin. He came out a few moments later, buttoning up the buttons of his shirt a bit carelessly, frowning a little when he saw her. He took the chair next to her and lifted a brow.

"I supposed you were waiting for me?" Kenshin drawled.

"You're brilliance never ceases to amaze me," the tall man informed him. "And your manners are the same as always. No introductions?"

"I'm Kaoru," Kaoru informed him. "Either you have a name or you don't, and don't refer to me as his lady friend."

The man gave her a dark look. "What makes you think I was referring to you?"

"I'm the only person here whose face you don't know," Kaoru reminded him, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"I like her," he told Kenshin. "I'm Hiko Seijiro. You might have heard my name."

Kaoru winced internally. Great. Well, in for the dime in for the dollar. "I'm sure it's a pleasure to meet you." Kaoru replied, refusing to blush.

"Shinomori here has discovered that there are two leaks. We have already eliminated the first but have yet to discover the second. Until then, all of you are going to be on lock down." Hiko turned to Kaoru, his eyes glittering. "That means you can't leave."

"So different from what I have been doing." Kaoru shot back; starting to feel very annoyed at the way slight smiles seemed to be gracing everyone's features. Kenshin's smug grin was what was really setting her teeth on edge.

The rest of the meeting covered several tactical details that Kaoru half listened to. Sano seemed to notice something because he kept trying to catch her eye, shaking his head when he thought she had it.

"I have a phone call to make. Shinomori, Kenshin, meet me in five." Hiko said, standing and walking by. Kaoru's eyes narrowed when Hiko patted her on the head. "You will fit in well."

Sano managed to catch her attention as she opened her mouth and gave a fast shake of his head and Kaoru scowled. "Why the long face?" Kenshin questioned, leaning forward to speak softly with her.

"You patronizing me and I don't like it," Kaoru told him in an irritated voice. "If your boss ruffles my hair again I am going to go for flesh."

Kenshin was obviously attempting not to laugh. Kaoru scowled at him.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, his eyes gleaming with his amusement.

Kaoru scowled. "You're far too smug."

"What are you going to do about it?" Kenshin questioned.

Kaoru lifted a brow but before she could say anything the phone rang and he sighed, rolling his eyes as he went to answer it.

Kaoru allowed herself to admire his ass. Well, as long as she got to keep little pleasures like those to herself, she supposed to she could deal with the rest of the shit he was going to make her deal with. Stretching on the chair, she allowed a faint smile to hover on her lips, winking at Kenshin when he lifted a brow in question.

He wasn't going to know what hit him.

* * *

Please Comment!


	40. Eat

This is a College!Drabble. It follows #12: Borrow, #17: Movie, #36: Floor and #37: Fail.

Ravyn

* * *

Kaoru adjusted her position on the stairs and continued to glare at her Art History book. The evils of calculus were tucked safely into her backpack until three, and then she had to pull it out for her tutoring session. Thankfully, a different tutor than the one Kenshin had saved from bodily harm a week or so ago. She was looking forward to the help, but the idea of spending any more time with a calc book in front of her had her stomach rolling. Just what she needed really; another person explaining a complicated process in a way which she did not understand; though she supposed there was hope her tutor could explain things properly in English… instead of the Latin her professor spoke in.

Her stomach gurgled and Kaoru eyed the remains of the bag of goldfish that had been her lunch. A week old, they hadn't even been stale… a little _mushed_, but completely edible. She could have ran over to the cafeteria for lunch, but she had left her wallet at the apartment. Again. She was just going to have to get into the habit of putting money in her backpack for the week. Figured

'Just give me a few more hours,' Kaoru told the hungry organ, which rumbled again. 'Then I can go and see what Megumi decided to make for dinner.' The woman had been muttering about the possibility of pasta for dinner. Kaoru liked pasta. She liked pasta Megumi made almost as much as the stuff that came in her precious ramen cups.

Shutting the book, Kaoru glared at her watch. 'Dammit. Half an hour to go…' it was almost worth the trek to the apartment and back just to kill the time. Instead, she tucked her legs more comfortably along the step and considered the strange infusion of Kenshin in her life.

It had been odd how he seemed to just appear before the spontaneous tutoring session, but now she kept catching glimpses of him in places she would never have thought to look before. Not that she had ever been particularly looking – regardless of how nice on the eyes he was. The few times she had seen him in the last week, he had been surrounded. The fact that the majority of his group had been girls dressed far too pretty for class had her rolling her eyes – at the obvious ploy for attention and the strange sensation that had tingled in her chest. She had decided that the little blond who seemed to chase him around had to be his girlfriend. The girl was very cute – Kaoru was willing to give her that – but she had been surprised that she was Kenshin's type.

Pursing her lips a little, she considered the situation. The way the blond had been very clinging, hanging onto his arm in a way that suggested she was possessive. Which was probably why she hadn't seen much of him lately – friend building or not, she couldn't have been happy at the movie and then the tutoring session. This was actually fine with her… even if she couldn't explain her reaction to being around the violet-eyed man.

"Studying?"

Kaoru whipped her head around fast enough that her braid smacked her in the neck. Kenshin was watching her with that damnable smile in place. He must have just come from kendo practice because he looked a little worn and his hair looked damp. Not to mention he was wearing the amusing green team sweats.

"Has anyone ever told you that you resemble a Christmas tree in those sweats?"

He snorted, folding his legs under him so he could sit next to her.

"No," he returned. "You missed lunch."

"Huh?" Kaoru asked, looking at him in confusion.

"Megumi joined us for lunch. She was late because she was waiting on you and you didn't show," Kenshin declared. "You did eat, didn't you?'

Kaoru stared at him before rolling her eyes. "Yes, I ate. Thank you."

He continued to give her a look. "What?"

"Huh?"

"What did you eat?" Kenshin repeated patiently. "Megumi says you have the tendency not to eat properly balanced meals, so I'm curious."

"I will have you know I had fish for lunch," Kaoru shot back, unzipping her backpack so she could shove her books inside, the urge to brain him strong. "I'm failing to see how this concerns you."

She turned and met his skeptical look head on.

"Really, Kenshin. Did you need something or do you just like to annoy me?"

"I like to annoy you," Kenshin replied with a smile, his violet eyes crinkled at the corners. He really did have the most interesting eyes. "You get the cutest wrinkle between your eyes."

"Puppies are cute," Kaoru informed him with a frown. "Definitely not wrinkles."

"This one is," Kenshin informed her, a grin tugging at his lips as he reached over and ran a finger between her eyes until he reached the tip of her nose, which he tapped. "See?"

"No," Kaoru informed him, standing. "I need to jet. Some of us have calc to suffer through."

Once she had adjusted her backpack, she blinked at the sight of Kenshin holding a familiar baggy. Oops. She had forgotten she hadn't put the damaging evidence back into her bag.

"Fish for lunch," Kenshin replied in a tone that meant she was going to be getting a lecture from Megumi at some point. He waved it around so the last of the cheese crackers shaped like fish wigged between the bits of plastic.

"Kaoru, this is not healthy."

Kaoru moved down the steps, lifting her hand in a wave. "I gotta run. Calc tutor and all. May I suggest you shower?"

Turning on her heel Kaoru did her best to move at a brisk walk and not turn it into a sprint. The fact that she could _feel_ Kenshin's displeasure as she walked away kept her moving.

'_Like it's any of his business,_' Kaoru grumbled mentally. '_Best just to forget about it so that you can concentrate on the evil of calculus._'

* * *

_**Please Comment**_


	41. Restaurant

This is a College!Drabble. It follows #12: Borrow, #17: Movie, #36: Floor, #37: Fail and #38: Eat.

Ravyn

* * *

"Kenshin," Kaoru argued, her face set in a frown as they walked toward the fancy lettered Italian restaurant. "I'm not dressed for this. In fact, I am not dressed for anything other than being a slob on my couch and pretending I don't have a Calc mid-term tomorrow."

"You look beautiful," Kenshin corrected with a smile, gaze shifting taking her in. "Everyone is feeling the stress of mid-terms. You'll fit right in. Don't worry about it."

Kaoru gave him a disbelieving look. "Kenshin, I have monkeys on my shirt and I slept in these pants last night. How, exactly, am I going to fit in?"

Kenshin shook his head, ignoring her protests as he ushered her into the restaurant. Thankfully, the lighting was dim enough that it hid her blush and allowed her to jab him in the ribs as the hostess walked up. If Kaoru's outfit was inappropriate, she didn't say anything, just politely asked the standard questions and led them to a booth near the back. Kaoru slid in and ordered water, ignoring the way Kenshin tilted a brow at her.

"I'm cutting back the sugar intake," Kaoru informed him, crossing her arms and glaring once the waitress left.

"No need to be so grumpy," Kenshin told her as he scanned his menu. "You need to relax and napping with the background noise of Sano arguing with Megumi while he avoids studying isn't the way to do that."

"I need to study!" Kaoru reminded him, picking up her menu and wondering how many patrons would glare if she suddenly attacked him with it. She still didn't know how she let him talk her into this. Take-out Chinese and a long, long night of studying and death threats at Sano had been her plan for the evening. Yet once again, Kenshin had strolled into her life and simply smiled before rerouting her entire evening.

"You need to eat," Kenshin returned. His eyes smiled at her, but his mouth was set in a firm line. "You can either have something picked out by the time the waitress comes back, or I get to order the appetizer."

Kaoru looked at him in horror. "You eat those nasty oyster things," she accused, her eyes dropping obediently to the menu; her frame shuddering, "It's like swallowing _raw rubber_ with sauce."

Kenshin made a noise in the back of his throat, clearly amused.

"They're good," he replied. "However, you're off the hook. It's not the right time of the year those."

Kaoru gave a sigh of relief. Sucking on her bottom lip, she scanned the menu hurriedly, attempting to locate something that sounded good. Her plans for ramen had been smashed and now she adjusted her mental stomach. By the time the waitress appeared with their drinks and breadsticks, she was nowhere near making a decision.

"Are you ready to order?"

Kaoru sighed in defeat.

"No," Kenshin said smoothly. "But we will take the fried zucchini and stuffed mushroom as appetizers."

Mandy nodded, jotting down his request before smiling. "I'll check back in a few minutes."

Kaoru picked up her water and took a sip before sighing. "You're trying to stuff me again, aren't you?"

Kenshin gave her an innocent look. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Right," Kaoru muttered before glancing back at the pasta selection again. "Sure you don't."

X

"Ranch? You dip your zucchini in ranch?"

"You should try it. It's good."

"I can think of a few other things I can try. That isn't one of them."

"Stop being such a baby and open up. You eat those nasty oysters!"

"No."

"Kenshin! It's good, here…. See?"

"Not bad…"

"That was my finger your tongue was licking."

"I know."

"Jerk."

X

"I cannot believe you don't like steak sauce."

"You want me to ruin the steak with… _that_? What is wrong with enjoying the flavor of the meat without dousing it in something else?"

"But… I like steak sauce."

"Wimp."

"Hey! No need to be insulting."

X

"I cannot believe you made me eat all that." Kaoru groaned as she closed her eyes. "You're going to have to roll me to the car."

Kenshin chuckled. "Does this mean you're not going to argue this time when I try to pay?"

Kaoru's eyes snapped open and she sat up, reaching for her purse and turning to dig for her wallet.

"Oh no, you paid last time. And the time before that. Do I need to mention the one time you let me pay and then put the money back into my purse somewhere I wouldn't notice it right away! It's my turn!" Kaoru turned with the cash saved from the last outing with Kenshin. Mandy the Waitress seemed to have a sixth sense, because she appeared and accepted both the bill and the credit card Kenshin handed her.

"I will return this in a moment, sir," Mandy promised, moving away. Kaoru crossed her arms and glowered at him. This was starting to be ridiculous. For all that Kenshin was a college student, he didn't seem to suffer the same limitations the rest of them did if he was taking his girlfriend out _and_ buying her dinner. Frowning at him, she started to calculate just how often she found herself dragged out to eat and frowned. Most of them were easily blamed on Sano and Megumi wanted some time to themselves, but these 'meals' were really starting to add up.

"This is ridiculous," Kaoru informed him finally. "You cannot possibly think I am so poor I cannot buy my own meals."

Kenshin rolled his eyes. "No Kaoru that is not what I think."

Kaoru glared at him for a long moment. He was looking far to amused and just a touch smug. The urge to pick up the empty bread stick basket and smack him with it took a moment to push down.

"And what does your girlfriend think?" she asked irritably, crossing her arms. "You can't tell me she doesn't object to you spending so much time and money on _me_."

Kenshin's eyes gleamed as he opened his mouth to reply, but the waitress showed up, giving Kenshin his receipt.

"Have a nice evening," she smiled at him. Kaoru rolled her eyes and stood, taking her purse with her. She was tempted to 'accidentally' whap the girl with it but decided against it. She wasn't his girlfriend so she couldn't get cranky with other women for leering.

Regardless of the odd fizzy feeling in her stomach that might have been anger.

X

"I still don't see how walking around at," Kaoru checked her watch. "Twelve-thirty on a freezing cold night is going to do anything other than make me cranky."

"You said you couldn't study and you couldn't sleep." Kenshin pointed out. "Sano can't possibly be in your apartment much longer."

Kaoru sighed. "Explain why _you_ are here again? I thought I was rid of you once you dropped me off at dinner."

"And I thought after falling asleep in my car you would go straight to bed, not wander around after dark on campus." Kenshin replied dryly. "And to answer your question, Megumi called me when she realized you were out here alone. Do I need to lecture you on all the things that could happen to a pretty girl after dark?"

"I can take care of myself," Kaoru pointed out absently, peering into the fairly well lit path at a pair of almost-familiar figure moving their direction. "Hey, isn't that one of those strange friends of yours?"

"There aren't strange as some people," Kenshin noted. "Like that hyper little girl you brought to the cafeteria the other day."

"Misao," Kaoru declared, moving away from the warmth of his side to poke him as his friend caught sight of him and waved, jogging over. "Is not strange. She is just a little more hyper than most. Besides, someone gave her a doughnut."

"A doughnut?"

"Hey, Kenshin!" Cho said. Kaoru was pretty sure it was Cho. He had stopped to eat lunch with her one day when Misao's football friends had come over to crowd the table. It had been the strangest thing. "Hi, Kaoru, how have you two been this evening."

"Good."

"Stressed," Kenshin interrupted, "we're attempting to wear her out so she can sleep."

Cho's expression became confused. "Well, there are other activities than walking that can take care of both of those problems, if you catch my meaning. Well, I am late. Kamatari is expecting me for some history cramming, so see you two later!"

Kaoru frowned, watching Cho jog off. "What on earth?"

"He is always in a hurry," Kenshin replied looking amused.

"No," Kaoru started slowly, "I mean… his comment… like he expected…" she stopped, her eyes going wide, before she started punching his shoulder. "You jerk! He thinks I'm you girlfriend, doesn't he? That's what that little comment was about! Go tell him I'm not!"

"Hey… ouch, Kaoru!" He grabbed her hands and frowned down at her, his breath making little clouds between them. "No need to be violent!"

"You need to go tell him otherwise," Kaoru scolded, a faint note of alarm in her voice. "If your girlfriend finds out that the kendo team things I'm your girlfriend, you could hurt her feelings."

The particular spark behind his eyes as he caught her hands, his gaze meetings hers, left her mouth suddenly dry. Suddenly, she was having serious doubts about the blond who she thought was his girlfriend. Kenshin's violet gaze searched hers for a moment before a faint smile tugged the edges of his mouth.

"Kaoru." His voice was calm and slightly husky.

She swallowed. "Yes?"

"My hands are cold."

Kaoru frowned up at him, her brows tucking together. "What?"

Kenshin shifted forward so that his chest was pressed against hers and Kaoru's eyes widened as his hands slid down her back and then straight down the elastic strap of her pajama pants until they met warm skin. Kaoru squealed, pressing forward and swearing colorfully. Once his hands weren't like blocks of ice against the back of her legs, she pushed back far enough to glare at him. She hadn't been expecting the way that put her so close to his mouth and she froze.

His lips settled over hers, warmer than she thought they should be and chapped. The hands down the back of her pants dug lightly into the curve of her butt and pull her closer. Then he changed the angle of his mouth and deepened the kiss. When he finally pulled back her arms were around his shoulders and they were both panting, the white clouds of their breath mingling as they stared at each other.

"Cho has it right," Kenshin remarked, his voice rumbling where her breasts were pressed against his chest. "It's getting late; I should probably be getting you back." He made no move to let go, and was in fact leaning in for another kiss when she yanked on the strands of hair tangled around her fingers.

"Get your hands off my ass."

X

Kaoru stumbled a little as she shut the door, her lips tingling from the goodnight kiss Kenshin had insisted on giving her. Curling her tongue a little against her teeth, she flushed at the remembered feeling of his mouth and the lingering sensation of calluses on the bare skin of her sides and back. Pausing just inside the living room, she frowned at the man who was snoring like a train on her couch.

Smiling wickedly she picked up a pillow.

* * *

**_Please Comment_**


	42. Winter

Because I just honestly love Sano to pieces. And this had to be done. =)

Ravyn

* * *

Gym time was a chance to get away from his girlfriend (to _quickly_ admire the woman) but this was supposed to be _guy time_. Sweaty, sports and beer discussion time that was without the influence of _women_. Or, it had been guy time since Megumi had finally removed that stick up her very nice ass and allowed him to date her. The past few months had been a chance to relax and catch up with his friend.

This was an _assault_ onto the heart of tradition.

"Are you going to spend the entire afternoon staring at her ass or are you going do something?"

Violet eyes flecked with yellow glanced over before turning back to the treadmill.

Rolling his eyes, Sano crossed his arms and wondered if he could talk his friend into changing days they met up. Save himself from this idiocy. This hadn't been a problem this summer – then the icy mornings had hit and there had been an influx of members hiding from the cold.

Including _her_.

Grinding his teeth, Sano accepted defeat for the afternoon and went to find a punching bag. At least then he could work out some of his frustration. Muttering vile things under his breath, he went to locate a suitably quiet spot and started to pound on the weight bag.

He didn't take a break until the muscles in his arms and shoulders started to burn. Blowing out a ragged breath he turned to look for Kenshin and shrugged when he couldn't find red hair or the dark haired woman who he was stalking. Scowling, he was about to head for the locker rooms when a clearly agitated voice broke into his musings.

"Excuse me, but are you _finished_ with that?"

Twisting around, he blinked when he realized who was talking to him. Except now he knew that she had dark blue eyes and was cute. And irritated. She looked PO'd if he had _ever_ seen that look on a woman's face before. Tucking his brows together, he decided that distracting her until Kenshin realized where she was just wasn't worth the effort.

"No, I'm finished."

Her smile was unsettling. She walked around him and then hesitated, looking up her expression easing into something puzzled. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

Her features were almost-familiar, but he blamed that on the view he had of her ass every Thursday and Sunday. "Nope."

She shrugged, offered him another quick, polite smile and took over his bag.

Sano watched for a moment, disgusted that he was impressed despite of himself. The bright point of this moment had proved to be that at some point in his friend's life was the high chance of the ass kicking he deserved. Cheered by the thought, he headed to the showers.

X

"Are we still on for tonight?" Sano asked as he casually slung his bag over his shoulder. Kenshin looked distracted, a mildly predatory expression hovering behind his eyes. Sano figured he must have gotten a call from one of his many businesses or informants. Another breech of the bonds of brotherhood – cell phones were supposed to stay in the lockers.

He was starting to feel offended.

"Tonight?"

Sano frowned. "Megumi. Dinner. You were going to bring wine or something to make nice."

Shaking his head, Kenshin clearly pulled himself out of whatever world his thoughts had been in. Sano didn't care, as long as he didn't show up distracted tonight. First impressions were apparently important for the lady doctor, although he maintained that their first meeting hadn't been his fault.

"Yes. We're still on."

"And you're bringing the wine."

Kenshin looked amused. "Yes. I'll bring something. Do you know if she prefers red or white?"

Sano shrugged. "How the hell should I know?"

Kenshin rolled his eyes and unlocked his car. "Right. I'll just make it expensive."

"That should work." Sano pointed a finger at him. "And show up."

"I said I'd be there."

Sano tapped his temple. "I meant here. Megumi senses weakness better than Shinomori and if you've got your head on ass or business, she'll know."

Kenshin blinked and shrugged. Sano stared suspiciously at the faint smile on his friends face.

"Where did you go anyway?"

"Go?"

"When I was punching; I couldn't find you anywhere."

Kenshin gave a noncommittal shrug, but that expression was back in his eyes. "I was working on something."

"Uh huh. We had a rule about business you know."

"I'll see you tonight, Sano."

Sano snorted and headed for his own car, ready to be out of the bite of the wind.

X

"I thought I told you to let me handle this?" Sano said mildly as he took the bottle of wine (red and as expensive as promised) out of Megumi's hands while Kenshin did something with his coat. He liked watching the way her eyes would spark and narrow as he did something 'unnecessarily male.' Not that he knew what the hell that meant, but he knew how to get the reaction that he wanted. It always made the after-dinner sex interesting.

He turned back to the counter and blinked. "Four glasses?"

"You didn't really think I was going to let you bring someone and then defend myself against the possibility of two idiots without a little help?" Megumi snipped. "I invited Kaoru so she could throw you out on your ear."

"Kaoru?" Kenshin questioned as he walked back in, pushing the length of his hair behind his shoulders.

Megumi's smile was appreciative and Sano did not like it.

Then her words registered.

"Kaoru… the kendo champion, Kaoru?"

Kenshin arched a brow, looking suddenly far more interested that he had the entire evening when a soft knock sounded on the door. Sano frowned at him and Kenshin raised both hands, shrugging.

The sudden widening of violet eyes coupled with soft, feminine voices caught his attention and Sano turned. He almost dropped the wine. Kaoru was short with dark hair and blue eyes. Her expression as she caught sight of him was startled but when her gaze moved to Kenshin her body language turned volatile.

"_You_!"

"So your name is Kaoru, is it?"

Sano's head snapped back around to Kenshin and he almost groaned at the narrow-eyed, predatory expression there. When _the hell_ had Kenshin had a chance to talk to her? Cutting his eyes back to a growing glower from Megumi, he decided that this was the last dinner party he was inviting Kenshin too.

The chances of sex were sloshing down the drain faster than the rage building in this Kaoru's face.

_Well Shit_.

* * *

_**Please Comment.**_


	43. Upset

This one... is just because.

Ravyn

* * *

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?"

Kaoru grunted in response, tugging on the tricky boots she had decided to wear that evening. Combat boots. Made for being shoved up someone's ass. Not that she was going to go out and look for violence but when traveling with Misao and Sano with the intention for drinking... well, she felt the boots said enough.

"Someone has to go and pretend to be the adult."

"But you just got in," Megumi argued, her disapproval coming through the phone. Disapproval and a note of irritation that Kaoru hadn't expected.

She paused, readjusting the handset and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Did you and Sano have a fight? Because normally you're all 'you need to get out more. Find yourself a man. You need a keeper or at least a personal chef.' So what's the deal?"

"You're being paranoid."

"I like to think of it as self-preservation."

"Your suspicion is ridiculous. If you want to get drunk and dragged around by those two nitwits instead of getting a good night's sleep to combat the jet lag, then far be it from me to try to remind you to be responsible."

"I would hate for you to go out of your way to worry about me," Kaoru said with an eye roll. "Did you and Sano have a fight?"

"I'm on shift this evening."

"I didn't ask why you weren't going, Megumi. I figured that you didn't want to have to keep up with those two lunatics, but I suppose being on shift is an excuse enough... Except now I want to know why you felt you had to have an excuse."

"What are you wearing with those boots?"

Kaoru pulled the phone away from her ear and eyed it suspiciously. "Clothes."

"Kaoru..."

"Don't 'Kaoru' me. What are you hiding?"

"I'm not... look, an intern just came in. I got to go. Don't go home with any strange men. I mean it, Kaoru. Don't let your jet lag lead you into something you'll regret."

She scowled at the dial tone and punched in a new, familiar number. Something was up.

"Yes."

"Sano, what are you up to?"

"Huh? What?"

"I just got off the phone with Megumi."

There was a long pause. "And what does that have to do with me?"

"Megumi only acts suspiciously when you're involved. So what exactly are you up to this evening that I don't know about and how hard am I going to have to kick your ass?"

"Hey! I haven't seen you in almost a year! Would I really plan something that would get my ass kicked?"

"You're an idiot; I can't discount that when deciding on the probability that these boots are going to be used for more than rolling the unconscious bodies out of my way."

"... boots?"

"Boots, Sano. Boots that are going to be jammed rather uncomfortably into tender areas if you are trying to pull something."

"I'm hurt, Jou-chan."

"Bullshit."

"Hey, well look, we're meeting up at your house, okay? I'll be there in ten. I've got a friend with me."

And the phone clicked off. Kaoru considered calling Misao and bitching, but that girl was always up to something so unless she had a way to narrow it down it wouldn't do her any good. Biting her lip, she considered her options. How much trouble could those three have gotten into when she wasn't looking this last year?

That was like asking how many bottles of nail polish Misao owned. And Sano said he had a friend with him. If it had been Katsu he would have just come out and said it...

Well, nothing to do but finish getting ready and prepare for violence. Cheered by the thought, she went to track down a shirt and had managed to collect her purse and dig out a container of Chap Stick when she heard the sound of male voice. Grabbing her keys, she locked up and headed out to meet Sano.

Sano looked good. Kaoru was certain that he had been on a little muscle weight over the past year. That was good. But it was his friend who caught and held all her attention. Standing next to Sano was a man almost a foot shorter, although still taller than both her and Misao. He was slim but there was something about the way he was standing, a deliberate casualness that sent butterflies rolling in her stomach. She flicked her gaze back to Sano before the unknown could feel her stare, but she was certain the image was burned into the back of her eyes.

Long, red hair bleached gold at the ends from the sun, braided to somewhere between his shoulder blade and a face that was almost too pretty to be male. She wondered what color his eyes were.

"Oh jou-chan... you weren't kidding about the boots."

"Self Preservation."

Sano swept her into a hug and spun her around. "Awe, don't be like that! I would never let anything happen to you!"

Kaoru lifted both brows. "Like you would let nothing happen to me our junior year of college when we took that trip to Italy and you left..."

He set her on her feet and interrupted her quickly. "Let me introduce you to a buddy of mine."

Kaoru turned and whatever Sano was saying sort of droned off into the background. Pale violet eyes sparked with bits of yellow were watching her from under red bangs that were cut just long enough to hide his eyes. And the expression in those eyes….

Suddenly, she was very thankful for her boots for an entirely different reason than ass kicking.

"... Kenshin."

And the redhead's smile was slow and satisfied in ways that she couldn't pin down but she decided instantly she liked.

"It's a pleasure, Kaoru."

She tilted her head, cocked an eyebrow, and grinned. "I'm sure it is."

It looked like tonight had gotten a whole lot more interesting.

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**_Please Comment_**


	44. Kitchen

Couples bonding at its finest.

Ravyn

* * *

Megumi walked in the front door with a sigh, leaning her head back up against the door, a slow smile curving her lips. She had no tests to study for, Sano didn't have a basketball game, so once practice was over he was hers for some stress relief and Kaoru…

…Kaoru was sitting on the couch reading a magazine. Her magazine. The magazine that she had used to buy the lingerie she planned to wear for her anniversary evening, which was tonight; _sitting on the couch_.

"Kaoru Kamiya! It is two in the afternoon! You were supposed to be gone an hour ago to spend the afternoon and the night at Kenshin's!"

The magazine slowly lowered and Megumi blinked at the disgruntled look on her friends face. Crossing her arms, she refused to back down.

"Boyfriend time is happy time, which I will be enjoying as soon as Sano gets out of practice, so you will explain why you are our apartment!"

"I'm protesting," Kaoru informed her, deliberately turning the page.

"No you're not." Megumi corrected, setting her bag down on the floor and tucking the white box a little closer to her side. "Do you know how difficult it is to clear a schedule with Sano as your boyfriend? Our anniversary was two weeks ago."

"You had anniversary time then."

"He fell asleep on the couch," Megumi corrected. "I fell asleep two hours later after studying for my anatomy test. I want to spend an evening having hot, wild sex with my boyfriend and your presence is going to interfere with that. I thought we agreed you would spend happy, quality time with _your_ boyfriend while _I_ jumped mine?"

Kaoru looked mutinous before her shoulders slumped. "He wants to teach me to cook," the tone was sulky.

Megumi blinked, considering the phrase before shrugging. Surely Kenshin knew what he was getting into. "That's _your_ problem. If Kenshin wants to teach you to cook instead of taking a golden opportunity to get himself laid, that's your problem, not mine! I love you, but get out!"

"You're kicking me out?" Kaoru scowled.

"Most assuredly," Megumi said. "Try that bottom lip out on Kenshin. Now, either you can leave peacefully or I can call Kenshin and tell him that you are too shy to wear the lingerie you bought."

Kaoru sat up straight, her eyes going wide. "I didn't buy any lingerie."

Megumi's lips curved. "So you _haven't_ gotten laid yet. Explains the stress levels," she stepped sideways to dodge the pillow flung at her head and grinned wider at the blush moving up Kaoru's neck.

"You have five minutes to clear out with a duffle-bag or I _am_ calling Kenshin. I might just call him anyway, because you are _here_ when you're not supposed to be. If you want revenge, burn down his kitchen. Or hold out, but I fail to understand why you haven't jumped him yet. You can't be that shy." She placed her fingers against her lips and blew Kaoru a kiss. Letting out a low laugh as Kaoru scrambled to her feet and ran into her room, swearing, Megumi hummed as she set about straightening up the apartment.

Life was good.

X

"Kenshin, really," Kaoru groaned, chewing on her bottom lip as she fidgeted on the edge of the couch, watching Kenshin move around the apartment. "Are you sure you want to do this? The last time I tried something more complicated than warming up soup, I caught the stove on fire."

Kenshin lifted a brow. His tone was curious as he leaned his hip against the stove to watch her. "Do you know why you caught the stove on fire?"

"No idea," Kaoru admitted with a faint blush. "Really, there is a reason I am banned to only the microwave and I have problems operating that! Do you remember what happened the last time you ate my cooking?"

"Honey…"

"I took Home Economics in high school," Kaoru told him calmly. "I was put on chopping duty the second time the school cleared out due to the fire alarms going off."

His eyes glittered with repressed laughter before he beckoned her forward with his index finger.

"You will like my way of cooking," he promised, the edges of his mouth curling with mischief. "I have a rewards system."

Kaoru gave him a considering look before rolling her eyes.

"This," she informed him as she walked over. "Is going to be a disaster."

Kaoru made a point to look around the apartment, trying to decide what made the kitchen in the athletic apartment so much better than the one in her apartment. Not that she really cared, but Megumi complained often.

"I can't cook, you _know_ I can't cook, more importantly, you have _tasted_ my attempts at cooking. Remember? You wanted spicy Mexican to wash the taste out, so I fail…" her words were cut off by the press of warm lips against hers. Kaoru stumbled a little at the sudden pressure, her back hitting the fridge and scattering magnets as Kenshin continued to kiss her, slipping a hand along her jaw to hold her still.

"I told you, there can be," Kenshin informed her between kisses, "rewards." His thumb stroked along her check softly.

Kaoru exhaled heavily, starring into his eyes, "Oh."

X

"I thought you said you knew how to chop?" There were slow pauses between words and heavy breathing punctuated by the sound of the knife clattering against a chopping board.

"Most of the time, I don't have a boyfriend nibbling on my neck," Kaoru said breathlessly. Kenshin chuckled.

"Megumi says you have a problem concentrating," Kenshin purred, snaking his tongue out to stoke the sensitive shell of her ear. "I'm just helping." Grinning against her skin he pulled back.

"You're doing very well. Dropping the knife instead of cutting when you don't have full concentration is a good idea, honey."

Kaoru narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm going to hurt you."

Blue-violet eyes sparkled with mischief. "I like it rough."

X

Kaoru sucked on her bottom lip, eyeing the concoction Kenshin had measured out for her to add to the mixer. She was pretty sure she was doing a decent job. Even with Kenshin breathing along the back of her neck. The fact that she was just waiting for him to cheat had her feeling a little jumpy. He had been nibble and licking and stroking different parts of her body all afternoon and her skin was buzzing.

"You're doing fine," his lips brushed her shoulder. Kaoru gave a sigh of relief. Ignoring his mouth, she reached forward to turn the blender down. She jumped when his teeth suddenly scrapped along the sensitive line of her neck. The motion had her hand smacking into the lever, so the mixer jumped up notches instead of down – pudding started splattering everywhere. Kaoru yelped and jerked it back, groaning at the mess on the countertop, and shaking her stinging hand.

Kenshin made a _tsking_ noise. "Concentrate."

Kaoru picked up the wooden spoon next to the bowl and swung, hitting the arm wrapped around her waist. He yelped and let go, taking a step back.

"Concentration?" Kaoru growled, hitting him again, this time in the wrist when he tried to grab the spoon. He dodged the third swing, swearing before he took a step back and peered at her from under his bangs. Kaoru narrowed her eyes at his look and waved the spoon in warning. The edges of his mouth curved into a sharp smile and he lunged forward. Her spoon connected to his side, but it did her little good as he took her to the ground. She grunted as her back hit the floor and glared at him.

"You're so annoying." She growled at him, wiggling a little to see if she could get loose enough to smack him with the spoon again.

He chuckled, leaning down to kiss her chin before swiping at a spot of pudding with his tongue. "So says the woman who attempted to assassinate me with a pudding spoon."

"Next time I'm using a filet knife."

"Do you know what a filet knife looks like?" Kenshin questioned. His eyes widened at the look that crossed her face. Leaning down he covered her mouth with his, kissing her hard enough that she gasped in surprise. He eased a little and then moved away, kissing away the flecks of pudding along her cheeks and nose while she breathed raggedly.

When he finally pulled back, she stared up at him.

"I should clean up the mess."

He sighed and helped her up.

X

"I thought you said you could stir something simple like sauce without distraction," Kaoru questioned. The past ten minutes had been fun as she turned the tables on her touch happy boyfriend. Lifting her fingers, she eyed the splatters of chocolate across her fingertips. She had just poured the pudding into a different bowl and hadn't escaped unscathed.

Sometime in the cleanup, he had decided that he had missed a patch along her collarbone, and her skin still tingled. She couldn't quite recall what reason he gave for nibbling along the little hollow in her throat; in fact, she was having a hard time remembering anything except the way he had used his tongue. Eyeing the way he was watched her out of the corner of her eyes, Kaoru considered her fingers for a long moment. With a slightly wicked smile Kaoru lifted her hand to her mouth.

Staring with her thumb, Kaoru slowly licked her fingers clean, sucking lightly at the tips, pretending not to notice the way Kenshin had stopped stirring and more importantly, stopped pretending he wasn't watching what she was doing. Sucking her pinky fully into her mouth, she swirled her tongue around it before pulling it free and giving Kenshin an innocent look. Offering him a grin, she wiggled her fingers.

"All clean." Kenshin made a strained noise, his body shivering as he turned back to the bubbling sauce.

"Right," his voice was strained. "Clean."

Kaoru, pleased with herself, reached over to and pulled the spoon from his mostly lax fingers and blew on the spoon before bringing tasting the sauce. Running her tongue around her lips she grinned brightly. "You know, I don't usually care for tomato based sauces, but that's really good!"

"I'm glad you like it," Kenshin finally said. Kaoru looked up at him, her breath catching in her throat as his hand reached out of her vision, the audible click of the stove top being turned off loud in her ears. His other traced her jaw before sliding up behind her ear to tangle in her hair.

"Very, very glad," his mouth settled over hers, and for all that his kiss was soft, the grip on her hair was firm as angled her mouth for a better angle.

X

Kaoru internally winced at the way Kenshin's back hit the counter, but she didn't stop what she was doing; sliding her fingers up his shirt to feel the hot skin of his stomach, her mouth locked on his. Both his hands were buried in her hair, destroying her braid as he ravished her mouth, his tongue tangling with hers.

"Mess," Kaoru managed when he pulled back, sucking in a deep breath before kissing behind her ear and nibbling a path down her throat. "Food. Mess." Those words were almost more than she could get out.

"Later," Kenshin growled, tilting her head back to gain better access to her throat. She groaned and feathered her hands across his shoulders, enjoying the way his muscles jumped at her slightest touch. Kendo had done wonderful things for his shoulders and stomach muscles and she loved running her palms across the taunt skin.

Kenshin growled something she couldn't catch and she squeaked as he pulled her close, teeth nipping strongly at her shoulder.

X

'_Couch'_ Kaoru thought fuzzily, _'that's the couch.'_

She had given up on thinking when she had lost her shirt; her bra still caught on one wrist as Kenshin ran his hands along her skin; cupping her breasts and tracing patterns with his fingertips as she clung to his shoulders. She had gotten his shirt off him, and his pants were unbuckled, but she had gotten distracted from her goal when he dipped his head and started to use his tongue.

"Pants." She finally managed to groan out, not wanting him to stop, but remembering the pants were important. "Now."

He chuckled against her chest and jerked her pants off her hips with one hand. "Right."

X

Kaoru panted from where she was sprawled across the length of his body. "We didn't make it to the bedroom," she commented fuzzily. His hands roamed her back.

"No," Kenshin agreed, a satisfied note in his voice. "But you stopped worrying about the food."

Kaoru pushed herself up and looked down at him in accusation. "You planned that."

"Well, I actually had hoped to make it to the bed," Kenshin responded in a lazy tone. "Next time I will take into calculation those wandering hands of yours."

Kaoru blushed before giving him a very satisfied smile. "Well, you're the one who decided to stop outside the door and do that thing with your tongue!"

Kenshin watched her with a heavy lidded expression. "Liked that?"

Kaoru nodded, tracing a circle around his nipple with a finger. "Yes," she admitted. Her only warning was the shift in muscles and then she was swept up as he stood smoothly.

"Then you won't mind if I practice my technique in the bed."

"Dinner?" Kaoru squeaked.

"Later."

X

Kenshin woke to Kaoru tossing a leg over his waist and pressing closer, faint grumblings showing her displeasure at whatever had woke her. Placing a hand on her head he smoothed her hair, making soothing sounds in his chest so that she settled. It was Saturday and early still. There was no need for her to wake anytime soon and he was enjoying the feel of her pressed against him.

She deserved at least another half hour of sleep before he woke her…

A slow smile curved along his lips as he considered all the ways he could wake her… it was going to be a good weekend.

* * *

**_Please Comment_**


	45. Prison

lrdrandallslady over on LJ, asked that I do Rurouni Kenshin with Kenshin/Kaoru prompt "dreams" as part of a series of challenges. I hope you like it!

Ravyn

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All of her life, Kaoru had lived with the knowledge that dreaming was dangerous. Wonderful, beautiful but _dangerous_ – she had held the pale wisps of a lovers first kiss, she had tangled her fingers through the creation of worlds and she had hacked at the dark, oily strands of terror until her fingers bled. Human dreams were beautiful, wonderful creations that floated through the sky-realm like cloud bursts of bubbles – immortals moved slower, carefully in bright flashes or hot, red tendrils that ate at everything they touch.

She was careful with her own dreams. It was the first lesson that had to be learned, her kind were not the only walkers of the sky paths. Waking Dreams her instructors called them, the ability to walk the paths but at the same time kept them from dreaming their own lives into cloud bursts and rainbow showers. Each dream was a bit of a soul, after all; a shard, a fragment of truth that was undeniable by the subconscious mind. Each tiny fragment could be gathered, searched until there was a path and that path would lead to an individual – great or cruel.

Every dream left something behind.

She didn't remember exactly the first time she had seen soft glitter against the landscape or dream bubble; it unusual enough in this particular realm but not unheard of. Great Beasts and creatures made from magic instead of just born to it walked these paths and left behind their own trails. Kaoru had never heard of one of her kind meeting with something like that but she supposed there was always a chance.

She was fourteen when she found a shard of dream-glass. She had staggered quite by accident into a knee-deep pile of glitter so that it clung to everything – the ends of her hair, her bare knees and along her neck. While digging herself out she had felt something hard, flat and almost warm to the touch and grasped it without thinking. To her surprise she had found herself holding a long piece of glass that looked like crystallized honey and felt like she should have been able to roll it into a ball.

It felt right in her hand, warming in her palm so she had slid it into her pouch. There was very little that could harm her here, in the center of her power and _those_ all felt like oil and burned to the touch. Corruption was very easy to spot in a world of bubbles and moonlight.

When she woke she discovered that the shard had carried over with her, nestled in its little bag of leather and silk. Kaoru bit her lip, carefully running her fingers over the skin-warm glass. Its edges were dull, as if the glitter had worn it down specifically for her and when she worked up the nerve to carry it into the sunlight, it caught and threw the light in warm drops and streaks of honey-gold.

No one could tell her what it meant.

Misao shook her head, tucking her chin against her knees as she watched the light spill from her friend's fingers like warm, melted honey.

"The shadow-realms are different. I don't know." She bit her bottom lip, wide eyes narrowed as she felt the pulse and pull of the magic. "Do you feel it?"

"It feels warm to me." Kaoru said slowly. "But it's supposed to be the fragment of a great dream and I can't see them feeling cold. The magical force it would take to shatter something so great…"

Misao shook her head. "I don't know then. Maybe if you found the other pieces but that isn't likely, is it?"

"I don't know. I haven't ever heard of anyone who's tried." She rubbed her thumb along the smooth shard. "But maybe I should."

"That might be interesting… more fun that chasing strands of terror and death, at least. I'll keep my ears open. Let me know what you find."

At night, it glowed softly – pale yellow against the back of her lashes as she slipped away to another realm. She kept it with her, keeping it close in the silk and leather pouch she had original pressed it into and she often found herself playing with it, running her fingers along the smooth surface and wondering what dream it used to house.

Soon after, Kaoru dreamed.

When Kaoru was four she woke from a dream to a room filled with rainbows and soft, pink bubbles that chimed when she touched them. Her father had walked in to find her jumping to reach the glittering spheres. The talent to manipulate the sky realm had popped up in the family before, so he simply removed her from the room to let the dream fade. The next day, she was enrolled in classes. The danger with her talent was that she was capable of pulling her dreams into the living world – some dreams were nightmares; the threat of terror. Then there was always the danger of choosing her dreams over her living world where she would waste away.

It was later that she learned how to hunt nightmares and destroy them.

But when Kaoru was sixteen, she dreamed for the first time since her tenth birthday when she mastered her waking dream. It was after the death of her father and she had desperately searched for something familiar, something she needed more than she needed the safety of her own mind. Whatever she had found had left the taste of wild wine on her tongue and a half-remembered sound. She had no memory of the dream beyond that searching, but she never forgot the flavor of it.

She dreamed two other times before her twenty-first birthday. Both were worth remembering because _she had dreamed_; the nature of them had almost been drowned out by the bloody, raging events that had led to them. The war and the blood soaked grounds that had left even the sky realm darkened and riddled with red and black of rage and hate – iridescent color bubbles only the occasional flicker of color and the bright paths dimmed. In that lack of color and endless pressing rage, the simple field of flowers the color of brilliant blue skies and the gift of rest. They had acted almost like a healing and she had clung to that dream during her waking hours.

She lost count of the hours spent cradling warm honey-gold in her hands, wondering what dream would leave behind something so precious and how the loss would affect its owner. Unlike humans, there had been rumors that great dreamers owned their dreams and stayed connected with them… the loss of something so beautiful must have hurt.

Then she found her second piece of dream glass.

This time, it was in her waking world.

She would have missed it completely except for the fact that the shard she had pressed against her palm went hot enough to burn. Ripping her fingers free of her pouch, she had brought her scorched fingers to mouth to suck the heat out when a brighter tangle of colors had caught her eye. Blinking, she paced forward and found a shard only a little larger than first on the ground under two bright blue daisies.

This glass was smudge gray with streaks of darker red and black. Those were the colors of nightmares and death and she had hesitated for several long moments, studying the shape and color of the brilliant blue flowers guarding it before reaching out to pick the piece up. To her surprise, it was as warm and welcoming as the honey-colored piece but there was a deeper echo, something like a memory tugging at the edges of her mind. Carefully she fished out the first piece and cupped them both in her palm. She didn't know what she was expecting but beyond a flicker of emotion she could barely feel, they were simply pieces of glass.

The night Misao woke her from a nightmare, she knew something had changed.

Misao cradled the second piece in her palms and frowned. "This one is different."

"I know."

Green-blue eyes were troubled when they lifted to her. "This one carries shadow."

Kaoru held up the other piece and shook it, scattering the light like raindrops. "This one doesn't though and they are… connected. I think they're pieces of the same dream."

"It's… possible, but it's been an age since anyone has found more than one piece that connected and didn't lose them. But you've had that one for years and this one… found you."

Kaoru a finger along a smudge on the honey-clear piece. "I can't explain it… but, they're almost memories."

Misao tilted her head. "You don't think the nightmare was yours?"

Kaoru shivered, thankful that her friend had been close. To unleash a nightmare of that strength in this realm…

"I don't know but it…" Kaoru frowned. "These pieces… they make something, a whole. I told you that I thought these were from a Great Dream? No one really knows who dreams those dreams – so great that their own magic couldn't contain it. But I've always wondered if it was possible… to, put the dream back together?"

Misao tapped her finger on the glass and then handed it back, shrugging. "I'm not sure that is the question I would ask. I'm more interested in the fact that if someone dreamed it and it broke, why aren't _they_ trying to put it back together?"

Kaoru shook her head, pressing both between her hands and warming them with her skin. "I don't know."

"You're going to look aren't you?"

Kaoru nodded.

After that Kaoru kept her eyes open in both worlds to see if there was some clue to where the rest of the shards had gone. The likelihood of finding even these two was staggering in its near impossibility, but she had to try. At night she would cradle the shards together – darkness against warm sweetness – and tried to listen to that echo. It wasn't exactly words but a feeling, a flickering brush of something more… she had told Misao it was a memory but she wasn't certain that was the truth.

She remembered those first dreams – the wild sweetness on her tongue and the peace and comfort that had sank deep into her bones with the gift of blue flowers. She was almost disappointed when she neither dreamed again nor located another piece of the dream-glass.

So she listened each night to that echo and felt all its shades.

It was another two summers before she found the third piece. The wars had continued on, draining the sky-realm of its beauty and making the nightly fights against the nightmares harder. She was constantly exhausted. She had even seen Misao in the paths once or twice, tracking an errant shadow that was slipping between realms to find new victims. She was tired, drained past even her own rage and would stay up just a little longer, watching the honey-gold drops of light and feeling the strength of the gray-red. They were… comforting somehow and she kept them with her each night as she waged her own war.

The third piece was the color of warm rubies and it felt… hot, angry. Unlike the other two which were hot or cool by turns, this one glittered. There were no comforting blue flowers here, just an anger that was so hot it burned. The little area of sky-realm that had contained it had changed around it. This time she trusted her instincts and plucked it from the ground and cupped in both palm, blowing softly hoping that she could cool it a little. For a moment it pulsed and jumped in her hand but then it relaxed. It still felt… twitchy, somehow, but she placed it in with the others.

She carefully studied it that next morning the same with the other pieces. Unlike the other two this one gave off no reflecting, cast no spray of color on its surrounding area – it just listened. That was the only way she knew to explain it. She dreamed no dreams.

But when she placed the pieces together, they almost seemed to tremble, as if they were _waiting. _For what she did not know, but for the first time the echo was almost a voice. That night she clasped it between her fingers as she fought a particular tricky strand of terror, fingers bleeding against the acid and pain of the child's screams as she hacked it free of the bubble vent that let out the slow, pale pink bubbles of her childhood. When she was finished she found that the terror had shriveled in on itself and the shard in her fingers was cold instead of hot.

She had been too tired to think of what that meant.

So she sat there, the shards clutched between her slowly healing fingers watching slow, pink bubbles sparkle against the growing darkness of the skies.

When she opened her eyes to return home she knew immediately that something had happened. She was still in what looked like an area of the sky-realm but her form was as solid as if she stood on her waking world's surface. Her hands no longer bled. The place felt familiar but it wasn't until she placed the vibrant color of the plants and the bright blue flowers that she realized where she must be. Frowning, she reached down and touched a petal. It was soft and sun-warmed under her fingers.

This was _not_ the sky-realm.

Her first teacher had once suggested that the sky-realm was merely the gateway to another realm.

"Welcome."

Kaoru spun around and stared at a heartbreakingly, beautiful face. Sharply pointed ears were half-hidden by the brightest head of hair Kaoru had ever seen. Even more remarkable was the glittering, brilliant shade of his eyes – hungry, honey-gold the same shade as her first piece of dream-glass. His gaze drifted along her body as a slow, curling smile made her heart hammer in her chest.

"You did not expect me?"

Kaoru stared at him, mutely shaking her head and then stopped. She had expected something, felt it building in those curious echoes and bubbles of emotion but had not expected _this_. Not really. But the heat in her palms told her who this was. Swallowing in the hopes that she could speak, she opened her palms and offered him the shards.

"These are yours?"

His eyes lowered to her hand and he tilted his head to the side and studied them. "I created them, yes."

Kaoru bit her lip and worked to open her palm enough so he could see them all. "You don't want them back?"

She certainly didn't wish to give them up after all this time, so how could he?

His honeycomb colored gaze flickered back to her. "I don't think they're mine anymore."

"I don't understand."

He frowned, as if he was now the one who was confused. "Dreams cannot lie. They do not always tell us the truth as we know it, but it is not a lie."

She frowned at him, heart starting to pound. "I know that."

He shook his head and she realized his hair was long, a braid as thick as her wrist that disappeared down his back. He reached into a pouch and pulled out a shard. Her heart jumped as she recognized the feel of it, knowing that it belonged to these. Her fingers clenched tight around the other pieces she carried.

Her reaction must have reassured him, because the line of his shoulders eased. "Then you do know me."

Now she was baffled. "That's part of the dream."

"Yes." He smiled at her and she felt it was unfair. "It is."

"Then why don't you complete this?"

Again, that tiny frown between his eyebrows. "Because it's your dream to complete."

Kaoru closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't understand what you are saying. I found the shards – _your_ shards to _your_ dream – and kept them. I had hoped to return them to you but now you're saying they are mine?"

When she opened her eyes he was closer than he had been and he was studying her, the shard in his hand held out to her.

"This is yours."

She bit her lip, studying the warm gaze that was trained on her and slowly reached out to grasp the piece. It was clear, untainted by color but the feel of it leapt against her fingers. She did not expect it to flare so brightly that she could hardly see when it met the others. When it was over, she was holding a small honey-colored ball between her fingers and the redhead was crouched in front of her. She didn't remember sinking to her knees but she didn't protest when he curled the warmth of his fingers around hers.

"I dreamed of someone to share this place with."

She blinked the last of the glitter from her eyes and lifted her gaze to his face. She swallowed at the expression there and ran her tongue over dry lips. With his dream complete against her palm she could feel the strength of that dreaming – humans dreamed in bubbles and rainbows. This was both the edge of a blade and the exhilaration of a fall. The warmth of his hands steadied her against the pull of it.

He must have read the question in her eyes because he spoke again. "It is the way of my people – to dream, over and over, until the strength of it grows too great and breaks. The hope is that the strength will be enough to return to itself and to bring us hope of what we need. Mine brought me you."

She should have been alarmed but she had carried the shards of his dreams for years now, felt the color and texture of his memories and the strength of his determination. He was careful with her now, hands loose against her, eyes watchful and not demanding but there was the familiar intensity.

"You were in my dreams. You brought me here before."

"I had some influence." He admitted. "Not much, because you only carried pieces of my dream with you but it let me… catch glimpses of what you were."

She scanned his face. Before that would have confused her but she knew dreams, knew that each one carried at least a piece of its creator inside. Even his name hovered at the edge of her tongue, as if she should already know it. This dream was much, much more than that and she was a bit irritated that she had forgotten.

"You changed them, my dreams."

He hesitated and then nodded, "When you needed it."

"Why?"

He lowered his eyes to the hands clasped together. "You fought to keep your people safe… I understood that. After the second piece… you gave me hope. I felt it only fair if I returned it."

"Tell me about the pieces."

Why it felt like she knew him beyond what a mere dream could give her.

"My greatest hopes and fears," he said softly. "My worst and my best until they grew too much for a single dream to contain – you are not the first to carry a shard with you, but you were the only one to take joy in the first merely for its existence and what it brought you instead of what it could do for you."

"I didn't even realize that I could use them in the battles until the red one."

He just nodded and she swallowed. "Why do I know you?"

"Because my dream called to you," he said firmly. "Because I know you."

Kaoru looked up at him and hesitated. He seemed to read some of that and brought her clasped hands to his mouth. The bone-deep sense of peace from the dream with the blue flowers returned and she considered if it was a false one and then shook it off. The dream in her hands was warm and it would not let him lie. Feeling shy, she lowered her eyes.

"I cannot stay here… I have friends and a duty."

She felt the curve of his lips and when she looked up her breath caught at the look on his face.

"I will wait."

She opened her mouth to speak – there were so many _other things_ – but his mouth was warm and persuasive and she let him kiss her. When he pulled away, she smiled slowly. He tasted of a half-remembered wild wine.

* * *

**_Please Comment_**


	46. Negative

Because he IS a food snob.

Ravyn

* * *

Sano's temporary replacement was starting to drive her crazy. She didn't care how highly Sano had recommended him or how enthused Misao had been at the idea. After three days she shouldn't be on the edge of a murderous rage that could only end badly. Her irritated, furious phone call after the first day had sent Sano into near-hysterics and she had refused to talk to him since.

See if she bought _him_ any cupcakes to help him get better faster. Jerk.

After five years of managing not only Sano but _Misao_ and occasionally Katsu (sometimes _at the same time_) the fact that this one was crawling under her skin was exasperating. But he was. And she wanted to mace him in his chair.

For all her irritation at him, it was obvious that for his faults he was good at his job. If it hadn't been for her warding skills, she'd have been left wondering why he had been partnered with her at all – even with Sano hurt; it wasn't like her bosses to distribute their resources so badly. But that thoughtful, narrowed expression that had caught glittering bits of the street light behind eyes after she had been forced to 'accidentally' reverse a ward sign to splatter the werewolf they had hunted still made her flush. Days later. Who had eyes like that, anyway?

And hands. It wasn't her fault that she had noticed – and continued to notice – those long fingered hands that were so deft, whether he was swinging his katana or filing paperwork. The fact that her hormones had picked up and honed in on that particular part of his anatomy wasn't nearly as distracting as the fact that he sat right across from her, in Sano's desk.

It was just unfair that the first man she was seriously attracted to in years was _such a jerk_.

The first day after the 'incident' as she had agreed to refer to it, it had started out well enough. Sano was out for two weeks, maybe three depending on how long it took the bone to finish mending in his left femur. She had been determined for this to go well enough, her only other option was Misao. While the little ninja was absolutely the best at having around to clear out paper work backlogs, any actual missions they went on always went… haywire. At the edges. Just a little.

So Sano had suggested an old friend of his who had been in the business long enough that he had moved up and out of the work for years and was just getting back in. Kaoru had been a little uneasy about accepting the help of someone who was both more experienced and less knowing about the current conditions than she was. But Sano had insisted and so she had agreed.

Himura Kenshin had shown up only moments after she had, introduced himself with a friendly if slightly superficial smile. That was fine, they all had their shields. Except she thought she recognized him from somewhere and it niggled at the corners of her mind for hours. It had seemed like everything was going to go okay – he was polite if slightly impersonal, he smiled too much but he seemed organized and willing to do as she asked.

Then he had tried her coffee. She still didn't know what his problem was. She had been able to let that one pass but then there had been a _look_ at lunch. The next day there had been a very polite conversation about her eating habits – and a mysterious supply of bagels – that might have ended badly if the phone hadn't started ringing.

Digging through her bottom drawer for the cheese sandwich she had brought for lunch, she ignored the sudden attention she could feel honed in on her. Cheerfully, she un-wrapped the delightful goodness and took a bite, ignoring the way the _temp_ was eyeing her. He had to get over his food obsession. Her eating habits actually _improved_ when Sano wasn't around. The next time he tried to sneak the coffee mug she brought from home every morning to test the contents for poison; she was going to beat him with it. If he made one more slightly annoyed comment about what she was eating, she was going to shove the saran wrap down his throat so he could choke on it.

She wasn't usually a violent person but this… _food snobbery_ was enough to send a sane person through the roof and into a white jacket. She'd never claimed to be sane – she worked with Sano, after all. It wasn't like she was committing murder in front of him. Her meals routinely had protein and the occasional vegetable. Chocolate covered _pretzels_ had to count for something!

Picking up her coffee mug, she shook the contents a little and considered brewing another pot for a refill or horrifying the idiot across from her with a carbonated soda. Deciding that expression on his face when she had offered him a sausage and biscuit from the little station down the road that morning hadn't been appropriate – it was protein! What more did he want? – she dug into her purse for change.

Feeling cheerful for the first time that morning, she hummed her way to the vending machine and pressed the buttons happily. It was about time she got some of her own back. She had a mile of paperwork to get through today and her chocolate stash was low, this was the boost of happiness she needed! Caffeine was going to save her from possible self-mutilation by paper cut….

Her desk was not how she had left it. Fingers curled tightly around the can in her hand, she glanced over at Himura who was looking shockingly _smug_ of all things.

"Where's my sandwich?"

Himura crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, edges of his mouth curled at the edges. The dark purple of his eyes had lightened a shade or two and he looked… different.

"In the trash."

Kaoru nodded and tried to decide if the steam around her desk was coming off the plastic container – meaning the food was either fresh or hot – or coming out of her ears. She barely refrained from throwing her precious caffeine at him. 'Think _happy thoughts_ Kamiya.'

"_Why_ is it in the _trash_?"

"It's unhealthy. So you're eating what I brought today."

Clearly, Sano had never told him how she responded to direct orders from imbeciles. Pressing her hip against the corner of her desk, she put her can down and crossed her arms, arching a brow at him. She felt his amusement and she pushed aside the urge to strangle him.

If he wanted a war, then she would give him one.

"I am, _am I_?"

Completely unconcerned with the hostility in her voice – in fact, it just seemed to _delight him_, the masochist – he reached into the brown paper bag on his desk that she hadn't really paid attention to and lifted another container; then he _wiggled it_.

"If you want desert you will. Sano said you liked chocolate cake."

Sano was _dead_ to her.

* * *

**_Please Comment._**


	47. False

This drabble can fall into the other Kaoru married to Assassin Kenshin, but it wasn't written too.

Ravyn

* * *

She settled into her seat just as the train lurched forward. Closing her eyes, too exhausted to sleep, yet too tired to keep her eyes open, she tilted her head backwards and tried not to think how terrible the trains were in America. She missed Europe already.

She cracked an eye open and tilted her head, studying the man beside her. Instead of commenting, he reached over and laced his fingers with hers, his other hand holding the packet of papers in front of him open. He was such a slow reader. Always so careful not to skip a word. He was like that in sex sometimes. Slow and deliberate… mouth and hands moving without any sense of a rush, no matter how much _she_ felt like moving faster. Shaking away those thoughts, she closed her eye again.

"Were to this time?"

"Aoshi said you wanted to see the mountains."

"Not in the _middle of winter_."

His fingers squeezed hers. Sighing, she lolled her head onto his shoulder and debated reading the papers herself. She eventually decided against it. He got antsy when she tried to read over his shoulder, and he was far more comfortable than the laughable excuse of a pillow she had set down next to her.

"Hungry?"

Kaoru grunted. "I'm too tired to think about food." His thumb brushed across her knuckles in a silent apology. "You can get something though."

He didn't respond to that. She really hadn't expected him to. The odds were far greater of being struck by lightning or Aoshi missing a target then Kenshin leaving her alone and unguarded in the middle of one of their relocations. Especially with her this tired.

"Do you want to go back?"

Kaoru's eyes opened at his question and she sat up, starring at his cheekbones. "What?"

"There might be a way."

She frowned at him. "If this has something to do with that moron shooting at us, I'm going to _hit you so hard…"_

He lifted his eyes and she paused. His eyes were as yellow as they had been two days ago. Usually they had settled back into stormy violet or at least into something a little less violent. She knew she should have made him put on those contacts he hated so much, but they hid the yellow a little when he was this worked up. So he _hadn't_ gotten over the shooting.

"I'm not going back."

"Do you want to?"

She wiggled her fingers, demanding to be let loose, but he tightened his grip.

"Kaoru."

"No."

Brows darkened by eyeliner narrowed a little and she met his gaze head on. "I am not going back, Kenshin."

He stared at her for what seemed like longer than minutes, the sensation of the train rolling forward brining them out of their staring match. "Okay."

She jabbed her finger into his shoulder. "I don't want to go back." There was nothing there now, not with him here, next to her. Nothing worth giving up what she had spent the past year fighting for. She was going to strangle him with the braid he had tied his hair into if he brought up again.

"Okay."

Starring suspiciously at the corner of his eyes, she finally relaxed enough to settle back against his shoulder. Satisfied when she felt some of the tension ease out of him, she closed her eyes.

She really hoped it wasn't the damn mountains_.

* * *

_

_**Please Comment**  
_


	48. Beggar

This is a Stand Alone.

Ravyn

* * *

"I don't know why you bother." Sano muttered out of the corner of his mouth, tilting his head so the small crease in the bandages around his eyes wasn't noticeable to the company who passed them on horseback. The glitter of weapons on the men and the jewels on the woman were enough to blind anyone in the midday sun, much less a supposed blind man _anyway_.

Kenshin ignored him, just as Sano thought he would. Repressing the urge to heave a disapproving sigh, he peered over at his friend. Covered in dirt, red hair disappearing under the mud and carefully applied ash, he looked even smaller than normal. He was hunched over, body pulled into himself; he appeared to crouch painfully with bandaged and battered hands curled around a small clay bowl to collect coins.

The subtleness of Aoshi's magic was still amazing.

"She won't even notice you're there."

The small man next to him – probably the most dangerous man in the square, even 'battered' as he was – continued to ignore him. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Sano kept himself perfectly still while he peered through the dirty bandages around his eyes in the hopes to catch a glimpse of Kenshin's lady. Surely her Uncle would have been smart enough to put her in a carriage. Surely…

But no… there she was, riding that great big bully of a horse who liked to bite. She looked pensive. The clenching of her jaw was noticeable even under the cover of what Sano thought was supposed to be a hat. There were tension lines around her mouth but her posture was relaxed and her grip on the reigns was easy. Sano was sorely tempted to look and see what Kenshin's face would tell him, but he didn't dare.

She disappeared within the parade of people within seconds.

When he finally managed to look over at Kenshin, he was gone.

Well… fuck.

* * *

**_Please comment._**


	49. Loud

This Follows #16: Late. =)

Ravyn

* * *

Sometimes in life, it was the little things.

Things like how you could get revenge without your roommate being able to get revenge _back_ in a similar manner. In moments like those, it was completely reasonable to play dirty. Like the time Megumi flushed Misao's favorite thong down the toilet when she was going on a date with The One. Or that Sano put itching powder, not in Katsu's sheets, not in his boxers, but in his _socks_. Itching powder that hadn't been noticed until he was halfway down the stairs and sprinting for the Chemistry Lab.

Small things. Unfortunately for Sano, she did not consider setting her up on a 'lunch date' with the downstairs guy who seemed to lack personal hygiene as a 'small thing.' So if she spent a week 'accidentally' flushing her toilet while Sano was showering so she could listen to his little girl screams as the water went scalding hot…

These things happened. You shook them off, filed them away for when you're drunk and want to entertain someone and let them go until the perfect opportunity for revenge hits you straight in the face. Sometimes it involves duck tape and mayonnaise… sometimes it just involves vodka. Small, personal things.

Kaoru wasn't even sure what she was going to call the redhead sitting on her couch. There was the vague memory of him and an incident with Febreeze and pizza at the end of spring semester, but her mental image of the lost kitten then had nothing to do with the man who was easily destroying every racing record Sano had set.

(After Sano had gone in and deleted all _hers_.)

It wasn't so much that he attacked the game with a single mindedness that reminded her of a Misao on cookies. It was that, unlike a Misao on cookies, he knew what he was doing with that controller. She could dig a man who could play a game. She was vaguely impressed that he had managed to lose that slightly lost look and settled into the confidence that a man holding a remote or control seemed to wear like a warm, fluffy sweater. A woman could never pull it off. Not that women didn't have their own brand of confidence; it was just that no woman ever really looked good half-sprawled with that lazy smile across her face that said she knew she was king of the hill. Most men couldn't either, now that she thought about it. When had the kitten gotten a backbone?

And _why_ was he on her couch? The vodka incident was weeks ago and Kaoru wasn't certain that this… particular redhead would have made a good form of revenge. She wondered what he did.

Indigo-blue eyes met hers as he paused the game, a brow half-lifted in silent question.

"You're not training to be a firefighter are you?"

His brow lifted the rest of the way into those messy, messy bangs. "No."

Kaoru nodded sagely and continued to stare at him. Firefighting would have made sense, in a way. She could see him climbing ladders to save stranded kittens for teary-eyed four year olds. Except he said he wasn't.

Gymnast? Nah. Too much hair. Perhaps he was getting a beauticians degree from down the road. If Megumi went there, it would explain how they met. Sano pretended he wasn't doing it, but stalking med students seemed to be his favorite pastime lately. Eventually she was going to come home to a message on her answering machine telling her that he needed bail money or a message from Megumi telling her that Sano was dead. She had killed him. She needed help hiding the body.

"Can I help you with something?" His tone was pleasant, but there was a spark of laughter in his voice. Kaoru grudgingly gave him another few points. Most men were nervous fidgeters when they were stared at. Women too. He didn't seem to mind. With that hair, she supposed he was used to it.

"What's your degree plan?"

Those lashes of his blinked and then he relaxed a little, turning back to his game. "I don't have one."

"You don't have one?" she repeated, suddenly understanding Sano's need to drag this man into her home. He was a little delicate for it, but there was very little that her bokken couldn't solve. She would just have to make sure she hit him… _lightly_.

"I graduated two years ago," his tone was light.

Kaoru had to grab the edges of the stool she was on to keep from falling over. Glaring at the way the corner of his lips had kicked up in amusement, she narrowed her eyes. He had already graduated but looked like a _lost kitten_.

"_In what_?"

"Engineering."

"Do they _actually_ let you near something heavy?"

"Are you always this nosy?"

"Only with people who look like they either deserve to be fed milk and store bought cookies or need to be beaten upside the head with a bokken," Kaoru informed him matter-of-factly. "You don't exactly look sturdy enough to be hit in the head with anything heavier than a feather."

He put the controller down and twisted around so the was facing her. "Was that a challenge?"

Kaoru blinked at him again. "Not really." Before either of them could say anything else, Sano walked back from where he had gone to change clothes. He was wearing exactly the same outfit that he had been before he had gone into the bedroom. Narrowing her eyes, she tapped her foot against the side of the stool.

"What did you do?"

Sano froze. "What makes you think I did anything."

"Woman's intuition." Kaoru said in return, her foot tapping out the beat to that song she had heard on the radio. "You better tell me how much blood is going to spilt now, so I can start planning out how to get you back for it."

Sano pressed a hand to his heart, "Would I ever do anything to put you in danger."

"Ninth Grade. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich in Marcus Whitestone's face. In which you promptly jumped behind me, leaving me with nothing but a rubber band."

"If I remember correctly, he had to be taken to the nurse's office!"

"Only because Jamie Kingston had a crush on me and watched you turn yellow belly and decided he had to come to my defense!" Kaoru reminded him darkly. "I had to put up with those giggling idiots you sat with everyday for a week over it!"

"You could have taken him."

"That," Kaoru pointed out with a raised finger, "is not the point. The point is that you are _not_ going to distract me with your endless questions. What did you do?"

He held up both hands. "What makes you think I did anything, anyway?"

Kaoru eyed him. "You're the one who went into his room the 'change clothes' and didn't."

"Huh," he looked down at his clothing and blushed. "Oh, that." He cut his eyes guiltily to Kenshin, who was now ignoring them both, shutting down the game. "I um… forgot."

Kaoru blinked at the men, got down off the stool and rolled her eyes at her roommate. "You're so weird."

"Hey! No need to revert to name calling!" Sano protested.

"Well," Kaoru pointed out. "Kenshin is done with the game so you both can go to male bonding somewhere else so I can pretend I'm sane now."

Sano blinked and looked at the redhead who was rolling up the controllers. "Kenshin came over to do something?"

Kaoru pressed her fingers against the bridge of her nose and decided a retreat to her room was the best option possible. If Sano had friends over to taking up couch space and nothing else, then well, that was Sano's issue. She was going to take a bubble bath and hide from men in general.

"Nothing. Never mind. It's your turn to buy dinner." She reminded him as she headed for the safety of her room. "You are banned from Mexican for another month, best keep that in mind. Try not to kill him, Kenshin."

Shutting the door firmly behind her and ignoring the confused tone to Sano's voice as he directed a question at Kenshin, Kaoru headed into the bathroom to start running the bathwater. A few moments later, her emergency stash of dark chocolate was sitting on the countertop and she was dumping jasmine bath salts into the frothing water.

She just didn't understand her roommate.

* * *

Please comment.


	50. Smile

This Follows #16: Late, #49 Loud.

Ravyn

* * *

Kaoru picked up a sushi roll with a look of utter delight on her face. "I love you right now."

Sano scowled. "My pocket book doesn't love you."

"It's jealous because I am getting all the attention." Kaoru responded after she had chewed and swallowed. "We haven't had sushi in forever."

"You need a boyfriend."

Kaoru cracked open an eye she had closed in bliss. "Why? I just bully you into buying me expensive food."

"I get nothing out of it. At least your boyfriend would be getting sex in return for buying you expensive food. I just have to watch you make those silly faces." He grunted when she kicked him under the table.

"I'll let you order Mexican this weekend."

"Why?"

"You bought me sushi and I'm not going to be there Friday night." Kaoru returned as she picked up another piece. "The girls wanna go dancing."

"I invited Kenshin to join us for lunch." Kaoru paused mid-chew to give him a speaking look. Sano held up both hands. "He hasn't been around and he has work tonight. I thought it would be nice to say hi."

Kaoru swallowed. "You don't invite Katsu to join us for sushi lunch."

"That's because Katsu thinks it's girly."

"It protein," Kaoru reminded him indignantly. "Nothing girly about sushi, and what do you mean he has work? I can't think of a nighttime job that would hire him."

"He is a part-time bouncer at the bar."

Kaoru froze and gawked at him. "Katsu's bar?"

"Yes, that bar! Do you know of any other bar we call the bar?"

Kaoru kicked him for principle. "I can't believe you invited him to each lunch with us." She poked her chopsticks at him. "Katsu came once and he _never said_ it was girly."

"I think your funny faces offended him."

Kaoru narrowed her eyes. "You're buying me green tea ice cream too."

"Hey!"

"Am I interrupting something?" Kenshin's light tenor interrupted the growing argument and Kaoru took another piece of sushi for herself. Sano shook his head, waving him to sit down.

"Nah, I was just telling Kaoru that you were a bouncer."

Kaoru rolled her eyes heavenward and chewed faster. Sano gave her a mischievous grin that spoke of revenge for the kicking. "She didn't believe me."

Kenshin smiled his thanks to the waitress who brought him a glass of water and shook his head no if he wanted something else. "Yes," he said as he broke open his own chopsticks. "I remember a similar conversation from earlier."

Kaoru finally swallowed. "It's not my fault you look like a strong wind could knock you over." She protested.

Those indigo-blue eyes swept over her frame. "You're smaller than I am." There was something warm in his tone and Sano coughed into his napkin. Kaoru rolled her eyes.

"You still look like I can break you."

"You know," Sano pointed out as he dipped his sushi in the wasabi sauce. "You said you and the girls were going dancing this weekend. You should just go by the bar and see for yourself."

Kaoru lifted a brow. "You just want to see Megumi dressed up."

Sano shrugged innocently.

"You should come by," Kenshin agreed. There something mischievous in his eyes that didn't really fit the lost kitten imagine in her head.

Kaoru considered those eyes as she picked up another sushi. "I'll make you a deal."

"Yes?"

"You manage to get Shinomori into the bar, thus getting me out of watching Misao mope all night, and I'll even dance with you."

Those eyes flickered with sparks of yellow for a moment and then they were gone. "It's a deal."

Sano snorted. "What makes you think he wants to dance with you?"

"I'm probably one of only a handful of women shorter than he is," Kaoru pointed out cheerfully. Setting her chopsticks down, she grinned at Sano. "You may buy me ice-cream now."

"My wallet _hates_ you."

"Suck it up and be a man. I'm merely offering you practice for what Megumi is going to force you to do. Practice makes perfect you know."

"Brat."

"Rooster."

"I _hate_ women."

"I'll tell Megumi your changing preferences."

"Arg!"

"Are you two always like this?"

"No!"

"Of course not. I'm _mature_."

"Like a toddler."

"Hey!"

* * *

**_Please coment_**!


	51. Chance

This Follows #16: Late, #49: Loud and #50: Smile.

Ravyn

* * *

When he finally let her up for air, all she could was stare at him with wide, wide eyes. Of all the things she had expected to come from her teasing… she swallowed as she watched his tongue flicker across his lips. This was Sano's friend. Sano's friends didn't really see her as a girl… except for that rare occasion when they did. Much less a friend who always seemed so lost.

Except for when he wasn't.

Right now, Kaoru admitted to herself that he knew _exactly_ what he was doing. The expression behind those half-lidded eyes was satisfied and warm as he watched her struggle to process what had just happened. (It would have been much easier to think if her mouth wasn't burning with the remembrance of his.) Even if she had wanted to bolt, her knees felt like jelly and the way she had fisted her hands in his shirt was about the only thing other than his holding her up.

She wanted to kiss him again.

X

The day had started out normally. She had double-checked her registration for the coming semester; gone to financial aid to wrangle out why she wasn't getting the same money as the semester before; gotten her work permit for her on-campus job that paid hardly enough to cover rent and her chocolate needs and broke the heel on her shoe. The heel hadn't been on the agenda, and sadly, it had been her last good pair of shoes, which meant she was going to stay at her summer job an extra few weeks to afford to buy a new pair. Sano had laughed at her… and _that_ led her to chasing him up the stairs brandishing her broken shoe and threatening to shove it places so pump should never go.

Somehow, in the commotion, Kenshin had arrived. He had inadvertently saved Sano's sex life, for which the tall rooster headed man had no appreciation. Sano even had the gall to lock her out of the apartment.

Glaring at the door, Kaoru whacked it with her shoe.

"So you two really _are_ always like this."

Twisting around, she brandished her shoe at him. "Short, small, _helpless_ redheads are not above being beaten to death by a shoe."

The edge of his mouth kicked up. She decided to ignore it in favor of turning to glare at the door balefully. When she got back inside that apartment, she was going to make dinner and then force-feed it to Sano.

"Do you have a hairpin?" Cutting her eyes to the startled man's face, she lifted a brow expectantly.

"No."

"Seriously? With all that hair?"

"_No_."

Rolling her eyes, _really_, what _was_ he good for, she stared at the doorknob. She supposed she could demand a credit card or something (assuming he had any), but that would be admitting defeat.

"So," Kaoru said loudly, leaning away from the door and watching it. Sano was the type of person who gloated. He would be standing close enough to listen to her threats and shouts. Smug that she was outside when he was inside. Except she had no intention of making herself look like an idiot. Well, she wasn't going to make herself look like an idiot _alone_ when she could bring Sano down with her.

"So?"

Kaoru made a cutting motion with her hand, clearly telling him to keep quiet. Surely he understood the more subtle motions of communication. Even Sano understood that one, and a man who had an engineering degree had to have some brains. She nodded in satisfaction when a shadow moved under the door. Smug grin firmly in place, Kaoru raised her voice again.

"When Sano was in third grade…" the sentence was cut off at the sound of the locks clicking caught her attention. Shifting her weight back, she waited until the door opened enough for Sano's face to appear before hurling her shoe with accuracy. The thud as the broken heel connected with his sternum, clearing the path of the door as he stumbled backwards brought a satisfied smile to her face before her eyes narrowed.

"You might want to stay out here for a moment," Kaoru told Kenshin, as she flexed her fingers and went into the apartment. When they finally opened the door again, Kenshin was wearing a bemused expression and Sano and Kaoru both were sporting carpet burns from the wrestling matching. He wisely chose not to ask any questions. Sano certainly wasn't talking and Kaoru was feeling much better after a good stress reliving exercise and humming as she dug through the fridge for something to drink.

The rest of the evening had been relaxed, and she had written off the thoughtful looks Kenshin kept shooting her as a reaction to her display of temper. The innocent was probably traumatized by her violent nature. Such a shame he was so cute. She had a lot of fun traumatizing Sano's other friends, Katsu for instance, she just wasn't sure if red was going to live up to strain. Sighing to herself, she decided it was probably for the best if she never involved him in her more… complex plots for revenge. Making a mental note to discuss it with Sano, he had no shame really, she had settled into the couch and settled into the normal routine of mocking whatever show it was that Sano decided to watch. Sano, in return, attempted to point out all the reason that he appreciated said show. Kaoru won on the grounds that cleavage was not reason enough to watch a ridiculous show involving monkeys and ticks.

"Hey Kenshin," Sano said suddenly as he flickered through the channels, "I thought you had bar duty tonight."

"Katsu has a friend who needs extra cash."

Kaoru blinked at him. "I still can't imagine you working at the bar. Are you sure it doesn't interfere with your bedtime?"

Sano snorted into his drink, coughing hard. Kaoru gleefully assisted him clearing his lungs.

Those soft violet eyes had a particular look to them when she looked back up. When she blinked, it was gone and the expression she had come to associate with him was back into place.

"Kaoru," Sano finally croaked his face a ruddy color. Before he could finish his statement, the phone rang. His eyes jerked to hers and she held out a hand. Swearing, he moved into position. One round of rock, paper, scissors later and he was answering the phone. Glancing over at Kenshin, she grinned.

"Pansy," she mouthed with an eye roll. "Always plays scissors first." Settling back, and high jacking the remote, she flipped through the channels. Apparently, it was Megumi who called, and if the stuttering, half-formed sentences that Sano was attempting to get out said anything, she wasn't happy about something. It never ceased to amaze Kaoru that her friend refused to actually date the man, but she would call him with every problem she had.

"When you going to be back?"

"I think she does these things on purpose!" Sano growled as he stomped over to get his jacket. It didn't matter how big of a crush he had on her, Kaoru thought with amusement. She will always annoy him. It was just a matter of time before one of them snapped and they ended up in bed.

"Of course she does."

The tall man paused as he opened the door. "I forgot. John called you today."

"I hope you explained things."

"I did."

"Then _why_ are we having this conversation."

"Thought you should know!"

Kaoru rolled her eyes and turned the TV down a few notches, setting the remote within easy grabbing distance for Kenshin. Reaching over, she started to gather cans and plates. Best to clean when Sano wasn't there to get in her way.

"John?" Instead of grabbing the remote, he reached for trash as well.

"Oh, one of Sano's friends who thinks I have a nice ass. Decided to ask me out."

"Oh?"

"Except, I _don't_ date Sano's friends."

There was a bit of pause and she looked over at him concern. He had the most… she wasn't even sure what to call that expression.

"Is there a particular reason?"

"You mean besides the fact that they are _Sano's_ friends?"

The slight lift of a brow had her sighing as she tossed things into the garbage. Waving one hand around, she tried to explain her theory to the baffled man.

"Well, think about it. Sano looks for friends who have characteristics that are similar to his own to have as friends. I love Sano to death, he is pure big brother, and thus, un-dateable. I wouldn't want to date anyone _like_ Sano."

His expression didn't change so she moved on to the next reason.

"Besides, most of them want to date me because I'm not a boy."

His expression finally changed, and she laughed.

"So that's it?" His brows had lifted, his arms crossed against his chest, and those eyes of his had lost that soft, almost dreamy quality.

"Would _you_ date one of Sano's friends?"

"Yes."

She lifted a brow, leaning her hip against the counter. "Really? The only one I can think of short enough for you would be Misao. I don't suggest Misao. Aoshi is territorial and caveman-_ish_. Besides, I don't know if you have the energy levels to compete with her. In fact, I'm not sure Aoshi does…"

"I'm not interested in Misao."

"You chose wisely."

Shaking his head, he moved several steps closer. "You know, Kaoru, there are clearly some misconceptions between us that need to be cleared up."

Were those little specks of gold in his eyes?

"Oh?" She frowned, her brows tucking together. "What about?"

Those next few moments had been very confusing. When she had time to think at all. The sensations had mingled together – warm body, soft mouth, hot palms against her back, hair between her fingers, _his tongue_ – until her brain just stopping functioning.

Now she was breathing heavily and staring at those eyes that were _not_ soft, dreamy violet. But hot and tinged with yellow. Kaoru licked her bottom lip. Her heart was beating frantically, pounding in hear ears so it was hard to think. Watching the slow, male smile that curve along the mouth that had just robbed her of rational thought, her throat ran dry.

"Now," he drawled, in a voice that was somehow rougher and baritone as he adjusted his hold on her, pulling her a little firmer against his body, "about this _silly_ rule of yours…"

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**_Please Comment._**


	52. Celebrate

Please note: there is lime in this chapter. Rated M to be safe.

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She lifted her eyes from her wine glass, careful to keep her attention from centering directly on the man sitting so casually on his throne of bone and glass. The Dragon King was always appealing, but _tonight_… after ten years, the urge to move closer was _strong_. She wished she could see the tattoos – the dark red line usually ran along his spine to curve over one hip. The living ink would have given her an idea of his mood, some sort of forewarning as what to expect. It was always a good idea to keep an eye on his temper – when he allowed it to be, it was explosive. The few long, drinking glances she had allowed herself hadn't told her enough and the first time, when he might not have sensed her, she had been too busy _looking_ to pay attention to the smaller details that might have been clues.

From under her lashes, she ran one more, speculative glance down his body. He had stuffed the usual wild magic and presence behind his eyes and under his skin, using the richly woven, if simply adorned clothing as a shield. But under the cloth and leather of his attire was a dragon large enough to fill the cavern that had been outfitted for the banquet. She lowered her eyes, hiding as his bright, yellow gaze lazily scanned the Court who had gathered for the Summer Solstice.

He knew she was here. His awareness brushed against her like superheated air, even with the cool breeze that wafted through the cleverly hidden crevices in the rock. This high in the mountain, the midsummer heat hadn't quite managed to gain a grip on the jagged peaks the stood watch over both the flat plains of the Centaurs and the jungle. The only way in or out of the raging winds that twisted around the shorter peaks was by dragon back or gate. It was protection and a trap… and even the spells she had inked directly into her flesh wouldn't protect her wings if she was caught up in those spell driven whirlwinds.

Goosebumps prickled along her spine and wished she dared to release her wings. She could feel the way the spelled tattoos along her spine _itched_ and it took effort to keep them from wreathing across her skin like shadows. The backless gown would allow it, but she did not dare. Not yet. No matter how badly she itched to let them loose – the air was thick with _intent_ and she wanted freedom of movement to _run_… but there was nowhere to go if this turned into a battle of wills.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?"

Kaoru lifted her wine glass to her lips and arched a brow, angling herself so that no one could read her lips. If he was keeping close enough tabs on her that she could feel the brush of his magic, then Shinomori was close and hidden. She refused to give him any more ammunition than she had by returning.

"Yes."

Misao looked unusually bright this evening, her usual dark clothing traded for a rich burgundy. Shadows clung to the ends of her hair and Kaoru wasn't certain that the elaborate combs studded with gold weren't carved from bone – her small friend collected heads the way many of Kaoru's tribe collected pretty baubles or bright feathers. Tonight her tattoos crawled from behind one ear to wrap around her collarbones, displaying the twisted kanji like an ornament. When Misao's gaze lifted from the throne, the black of her pupil was bleeding into the blue-green of her irises, a startling contradiction and sign that her magic was close to the surface. Misao snapped open a fan with a mural made of bold, black lines and rich red color that almost matched the gown. Kaoru tried to examine the curious prints along the fabric – knowing her friend, the fan was a trophy of some sort.

"He's been waiting a long time for your family to name you to Court."

Kaoru said nothing. There was to nothing to _say_. She had hoped that the ten years she spent away from the Court – from _him_ – would have dulled the physical attraction she had almost drowned in once. She hadn't been a child then and she wasn't a child now but the claiming she could feel brushing against her skin left her feeling snappish and uneasy. Swirling the dark red liquid in her glass, she scanned the area around her. Misao she could trust with her life and with her magic. But the rest of the Court… there were too many people and too many unknowns for her to be comfortable. The high peaks were for dragons and sun lizards, not for those who preferred open aeries and the hot, balmy skies of the jungle.

Misao looked vaguely amused at her deliberate lack of answer but a sudden commotion near the dais caught everyone's attention. Kaoru was tucked far enough away from the throne that she wouldn't be immediately noticeable, but if she could see him then he could see her. Her eyes flickered to the clock that rested on one wall and swallowed. He had stood to call an end to the festivities – ending whatever breathing room she had bought herself.

His mouth and body language were relaxed, but his eyes were as yellow as the gold rumored to be hidden deep within the walls of the mountain. She listened to the cadence of his voice, not really paying much attention to the words. They were mostly standard fair, but the way his gaze scanned the room – slow and full of attention …

When he left, the room felt… empty.

"I can slide you to your rooms if you want."

Kaoru let out a long, slow breath. "Wouldn't that just be avoiding the inevitable?"

"Only if you think he is serious."

"You don't?"

Misao grinned, the black of her eyes fading behind her pupil. "What I think doesn't really matter." She tilted her head like a bird. "Why did you come back, Kaoru?"

Kaoru hesitated. The question was loaded. There were too many answers and only one would be the right one. Misao would let it go but means of her help would change. Besides, she knew the answers… even if it made her uncomfortable.

"I needed to be sure."

Misao just nodded and fluttered her fan for a moment before snapping it shut, her expression taking on a predatory cast.

"There he is."

Kaoru blinked. "Who?"

"That _yummy_ piece of man-flesh. Shinomori. I think I'll go see if he'll let me nibble tonight."

Smiling brightly, she disappeared into the crowd. Kaoru set the glass on a table and tried to stifle the sudden hysterical image of Misao sidling up to Shinomori of all people.

Turning, she studied the large, stone doors that had closed when he had left and decided to head back to her room. She needed to think about what she wanted to do. Needed to have an answer for herself when he was ready to ask. Because if there was anything left between them… he _would_ ask.

X

He was sprawled in her room, waiting.

Kaoru stilled inside her door, taking in her king's appearance as he lounged on one of the low-backed couches that had been placed in front of the fire. She swallowed and tried not to think of the implications of the casual intimacy of sitting in her room with his hair loose and his feet bare. She didn't know what to say. So she finished shutting the door behind her and leaned against it. She could bow and say his title, putting a wall firmly between them… but he had come to her… to her room and deliberately let down his guard.

His gaze was lazy as it moved along the line of her body, taking in the fall of her dress, the way she had knotted her hair to better show off the line of her spine and the movements of her tattoos. Now that she was free of the eyes of the court, she could feel the hot movement of magic along her spine to wrap around her shoulder blades.

The satisfied expression was almost hidden by the heat in his eyes.

He said nothing.

So she swallowed and gathered her courage.

"I didn't expect to find you here."

She wasn't ready to name him or give him title, so she left both off. He arched a brow in acknowledgement of her avoidance and the edge of his mouth twitched, as if he was fighting a smile.

"You didn't come to me… _Kaoru_."

She was thankful that her hands were behind her back. It hid the way they fisted at the sound of her name. How long had it been since someone had said her name? Much less the way _he_ said it, all low and controlled, deliberately making it into something more.

"I haven't spoken to you in ten years."

He rolled silently to his feet and she watched the way he moved. Dragon-men were always deliberate with their movements, always aware of their bodies – they had to be. Male dragons could grow up to near sixty feet in length.

"Yet you came."

Kaoru took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I did."

He padded forward, hand sliding into the pockets of his leather trousers until he was close enough that his magic flickered along her skin in tiny bursts of energy. The gold of his eyes were darkened at the edges with bronze and she had to bite her tongue to keep from reacting to the familiar, considering tilt of his head.

"You ran from me."

She tilted her chin. "I needed space to think."

He leaned forward on the balls of his heels and a strand of hair brushed against her shoulder. "Ten years is a long time to think."

"You're very exasperating."

A smile quirked his lips, "Then we make quite a pair. Have you come to a decision, Kaoru?"

She leaned against the door, buying herself an inch of space and studied him. He was keeping everything but his surface emotions locked behind his eyes. The last ten years hadn't changed a single line of his features – but his eyes were deeper now. She knew he was guarding himself – knew that the edge and harsh lines he was fully capable of showing would appear soon enough. But now, here, in her room he was holding himself in cheek so she wouldn't feel pressured.

"I won't be hoarded away in your mountain all year, Kenshin. I need the jungle."

His took a step forward so that his body lightly brushed hers, sliding his fingers along the column of her neck, behind her ears disrupting the careful knot, to dig into the wealth of her hair. Hot breath ghosted along her lips and over her ears and she shivered.

"I meant what I said, Kaoru. If you agree to this – you stay."

"Staying is not hoarding." She countered, tilting her jaw in challenge, ignoring the way her lips almost brushed his.

Amusement crowded the heat in his gaze for a moment. "We shall see."

"Kenshin this _is_…"

His teeth released her bottom lip when she gasped, one hand catching his shoulder, the other sliding around his neck as he pressed against her. His mouth shifted, angling against hers as his tongue flicked and stroked. She leaned up against him, curling her fingers into the collar of his shirt until she heard the seams pop.

He pulled back and his eyes burned. "You're mine. I've waited long enough."

Her eyes widened and he leaned back in, his touch soft after the possessiveness of his last kiss. Reaching behind her head, he pulled out the pins in her hair, tossing them to the floor until the knot completely unraveled, leaving her long hair loose to tumble around her shoulders in messy waves. Arching into his chest, she demanded more – sliding her tongue between his lips to explore while his hands dipped along her shoulders. His palm settled hot against the skin under her shoulder blades, the scrap of skin that never completely forgot scales making her gasp and pull away from his mouth as her tattoos moved along her skin – the way his magic heated the muscles along her spine with dragon fire.

Blunt teeth scraped behind her ear.

"Let them out. I want to feel them against my arms and shoulders as I take you."

She let the wall take her weight as she looked up at him, licking her lips. The black of his pupils were swallowing the gold and she bit her lip. Letting out her wings…. He wanted a sign of trust. He wanted her strengths and weaknesses – pulling her wings out with her tattoos instead of her battle magic would leave her vulnerable until the magic was finished.

_Trust_.

The way he had trusted her to return – even if it had taken ten years.

Decision made, she pushed lightly against his chest and he took three steps backwards to give her the space she needed. She closed her eyes and searched for the thread of magic that was always close to her skin, then tangled her magic around it and pulled. Heat built and arched along her spine, expanding until her fingertips tingled and then exploded outward in an almost painful rush of feathers and bone. The world wavered as her magic overwhelmed her senses.

When she gained some control again, her breathing came in heavy pants and her skin felt too sensitive. She hung there for a moment, half-aware and wrapped up in the adrenaline and magic pounding in her veins. The hot press of Kenshin's body told her he had caught her at some point.

Pushing back just enough, she found that he had hitched her legs over his hips and… she swallowed. Tilting her face up, she found his expression glittering.

She had never unfurled in front of him before. She knew what he saw. Her hair was a tangled mess and her tattoos crawled along new bone and feather of her wings to eat away the blood residue from their violent release. Warm, dragon-heated wind brushed through the air and sped the drying process, yet through it all, she couldn't look away from Kenshin.

Kenshin let out a long, slow breath. "Yes. This is exactly how I want you."

For a moment, it looked like he would press her up against the wall but he turned towards her living space instead of the bedroom.

"Kenshin?'

He bit her ear and her thighs tightened around his waist in surprise. Fingers digging into his shoulders, she tried to ignore the way one thumb was stroking the base of her left wing, soft little caresses that were sending bolts of heat straight to her abdomen.

"Not yet." He said as he pulled back. The hard warmth of the long wooden writing table settled against her thighs and she stilled. The table was sturdy, but it wasn't very wide – giving her new and overly sensitive wings room. Kenshin leaned forward and caught her lip with his teeth, allow her thighs to fall away from his body as he sucked the soft flesh into his mouth to nibble and lick.

"When I take you in the bed you'll be flat on your back." The scrap of an almost-scaled palm running the length of her wing had her back arching so she could press against him. "These are still too new."

His fingers delved into her hair as he kissed her again, his other hand sliding down her spine to curl around her hip. He flexed against the muscle there, a please noise rumbling in his chest as her hands tugged at the ties at his throat. She worked enough space between their mouths to begin tugging at his shirt, forcing him to relinquish his hold on her hair so she could pull his shirt free. Heavy lidded, yellow eyes watched as she smoothed her fingertips and then palms along the unnaturally warm skin of his shoulders and chest. Her fingers stroked along his hip, brushing the line of ink there and he hissed at the spark of power that burned against her palm at the contact.

In retaliation, his claws slide soundlessly through the bodice of her dress, splitting the heavy fabric down to her navel. She frowned at him, ignoring the way his palm was sliding back up her sternum to rest just beneath her collarbone.

"I _liked_ this dress."

He made a noise, leaning down to lick her shoulder. "I like it better now."

She curled her fingers in his hair and tugged, letting one leg fall off his hip, giving her the leverage she needed to press as close as she wanted. He retaliated by scraping the top of one breast with his teeth while the hand at her back dug into the muscles just below her wing. She groaned, arching her spine and wiggled one leg out from under her skirt to toss it back around his hip.

She had forgotten how warm his skin was. He felt _good_ against the faint chill in the room and his mouth and the rasp of his tongue were even better. His hand slid from her back to run along the line of her thigh and he groaned. "You're so damn soft."

She arched, tongue flicking at his jaw, nails scraping down the back of his neck, encouraging him _higher_. He made a noise low in his throat and leaned in, catching her lip with his teeth and tugging just hard enough to sting. Pressing against him – _thighs, stomach, and chest _– she tangled her tongue with his. Her wings snapped against her back at the first brush of his fingers and she flexed the muscles in her leg against his hip, asking without words.

Instead, they slid down her thigh to curl around her calf, pulling her off balance; forcing her to wings to fan out for balance. Lifting her grumpy gaze to his face, her breath caught at the way his eyes slid along her shoulders and the fan of her wings, before dragging across her bare chest and then back to her face. The thin veil of man had been stripped from his face and the skin across his cheekbones was tight and drawn, angled in a way that was almost reptilian.

His thumb brushed against the underside of her chest. "This is mine. All of it."

Her stomach clenched and her chest hurt at the possessive rasp to his voice.

"Now I'll take it."

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	53. Genius

Written in college. I think you'll see why.

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Kaoru stared at the vending machine in front of her. It was an entity of _darkness_. If it had a soul, it would have been sold to the devil and it would have enjoyed it! It wasn't as if it was innocent.

_Oh no._

Its first sin was that clear, plastic cover. It just sat there, content to let its prey come to it, like one of those hopping spiders. It knew its own allure. It didn't bother to camouflage itself. It had something even more tempting: _chocolate_.

Chocolate that was cleverly packaged with bright colors to catch your attention. Even if you didn't want chocolate, you were forced to stop and stare with the sort of dull acknowledgement of life giving sweets between classes. It was _freedom_. It was _liberation_. It was _redemption_ from the boring lectures that rang meaninglessly through your brain even after you have left the classroom.

The gates of hell cleverly disguised as slots for quarters or dollars guarded the goods.

Assuming you had change, you could only bribe the machine to operate if the coins were in silver: quarters, dimes and nickels. Pennies were an unacceptable tribute. The temptation before you mocked your efforts to dig through your bag, looking for any small, silver piece that might have slipped between the pages of a book or hidden by your chapstick.

If you had a dollar, only prayer and the cleverest of un-wrinkling techniques disguised as worship would convince the gates to actually accept your dollar. Time and time again, it would taste your pain and spit it back out.

Yet, the gates were not its most clever defense. Eventually, you breeched the gates, and once that lingering taste of victory sat on your tongue you watched the little turns and knobs twisted your hard-earned spoils in your direction…

And stopped.

_Frustration_.

No matter how many times you 'bump' the machine, it refuses to give into your demands. It continues to mock you, the reward you crave hanging on by a thread and refusing to move.

Starring at the candy bar that was her only source of life for the next, extremely boring lecture, Kaoru kicked the machine in frustration. This was why universities only gave you a few moments' in-between classes. They who sat at the front of the class with their little bags of pretzels and their water bottles, the mocking smile of someone who knows that the vending machine claimed a new victim…

The sound of someone clearing their throat pulled Kaoru out of her frustrated glower. Turning around, she stared at the person who dared interrupt her attempt to subdue the machine into behaving. Vaguely recognizing the person, she watched slightly stupefied as he reached over and rocked the machine with a well-executed flex of muscle.

The sound of something hitting the bottom of the machine twisted her back around to stare where the candy bar had been. Blinking, she looked back over at the redhead who offered her a faintly charming smile, nodded his head, and walked away.

Vending machine angels really _did_ exist.

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	54. Sex

Obviously: Lime.

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Skin pressed against naked skin with a slide that heated blood. Slick, wet flesh rubbed and twisted, tongues tangled as fingers clenched in long strands of hair. Nails dug into muscle and skin – marking, cherishing, and needing. Muscles clenched and pulled, shivering. The slow slide of cloth revealing more skin. Teeth nibbled and grazed. Bruised lips brushed faint stubble, callused finger tips and palms explored textures of skin and scar. Strength bent captured strength. Tamed it. Tasted it. Craved it.

The soft slide of sheets against sensitive nerve endings, the soft stroke of tongue against skin. Tension – hot and tight – coiling low and frantic bodies heaved and pressed.

Vibrations of sound: a low hiss, followed by a muffled moan, panting, uneven breaths. Uneven murmurings. A grunt of exertion. A low wail. The squeak of springs. The rustle of sheets. The soundless noise of a pillow hitting the floor. Whispered words: demands, questions, begging...

Screams.

Gasping. Low whispers of sound.

Breathe against skin. Hot, moist heat against hotter, wet skin. The slow slide of a hand against hip. Fingers curling in tangled, sweat damp hair. Sheets rustling. A sigh of satisfaction. A mummer of amusement. Soft, whispered breaths against sensitive skin.

Silence.

Silence.

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	55. Fool

Kaoru adjusted the gloves on her hands for the third time, shivering a little as she waited for her date to show up. Giving into the urge, she dug out her cell phone and checked the screen. Nothing. So he hadn't called. Putting the phone back into her pocket, she shivered again. Snow was coming down in lazy flakes, silent testimony to the bitter chill in the air. Thankfully, the wind had died down to a little breeze, instead of the wind that threatened her carefully curled hair. These sorts of things were supposed to happen on the first date, not the _fifth_.

Sighing, she glanced at the large clock that overlooked the little fountain and the park benches. It had opportunity to be a romantic meeting place… if it was warmer and her date was on time. Well, she wasn't going to spend the evening looking this good outside in the snow waiting for a date that wasn't going to show. The man had promise, but there was only so much a well-dressed woman in heels was willing to take. She had even used some of her expensive perfume.

'_Well_,' Kaoru thought was a sigh. _'This is why you don't dress up very often. It never works._' She wasn't entirely disappointed in missing the play he had bought tickets for. In fact, she had slightly dreaded it. Still, one didn't turn down free dinner at the price of mild boredom. Not when all that was waiting for you at home was a cup of ramen or her choice of Healthy Choice microwaveable dinners.

Maybe she would give in and pick up take-out on the way home…

"Kaoru Kamiya," the voice was soft with surprise. "Is that you?"

Blinking, she turned around and found herself starring at a very familiar face. Kenshin Himura had been her best friend's roommate for the first semester that Sano had lived in the dorms. The quiet and serious student was best known for his skill in the kitchen. Every Monday night they would curl up on old furniture, ignore the smell of Sano's old socks, and eat Kenshin's world-class spaghetti.

She had only seen him occasionally since then. She didn't remember what he had majored in, or even where he had gotten his first job, but she hadn't expected to see him in Chicago of all places.

"Kenshin," for the first time that night she smiled. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"I'm in town for a business conference this week," his smile showed off the dimple in his right cheek. "I decided to take a walk to clear my head before I went to find dinner. What are you doing out here?" His eyes flickered over her form, the edges of his mouth kicking up further at the sight of her heels. "I vaguely remember you hating the cold."

"I was waiting on someone," her tone was slightly waspish. "I think his time is up."

Those curiously pale eyes of his blinked. "He had you meet him… _here_? In the cold?"

Kaoru shrugged and shoved her hands into her pockets.

"So you haven't eaten then?" Kenshin questioned, a brow kicking up into his hairline in a familiar expression. Making a face as she reached upwards to shove a stray curl behind her hear, she shook her head.

"No."

Clicking his tongue, he moved forward. "Knowing you, you're probably going to go home and indulge in a cup of ramen."

Kaoru stuck her tongue out. "You make it sound like such a horrible fate."

"It is," he replied, "which is why I'm going to take you out to dinner."

Kaoru lifted both brows. "Is that so?"

It was difficult to hold in her smile with him sounding so mischievous, but when she looked up, realizing how close he was suddenly, her mouth ran dry. It had been a long time since she had seen Kenshin Himura and he carried the years well. His features were still those wonderfully smooth lines, and those curious indigo-violet eyes smiled at her. The wind carried the faint scent of spicy cologne.

"It would be a pleasure to spend the evening with you, Kaoru."

Her breath caught in her throat at the low timbre to his voice before she smiled. "I would like that."

"Good," he murmured, tucking her arm into his as he lead her away from the little park. "I would have hated to call in an old favor."

Bumping his shoulder with hers, she scowled. "You wouldn't!" That had been a particularly embarrassing favor and her cheeks flushed pink with more than the cold.

Mischief danced in his eyes, even if his face was completely serious. "Never underestimate the lengths a man will go to have dinner with a beautiful woman."

Kaoru snorted, but didn't pull away as they walked towards the parked vehicles. She couldn't say she was the least bit disappointed that when her date eventually arrived, she wouldn't be there.

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	56. Fire

Warning: Suggested Violence.

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Kaoru crouched by the door, fingers slick on the hilt of the ceremonial dagger she had snatched from the belt of an unconscious guard. It was too heavy, too ornate to be any good at throwing but the blade was sharp. Sweat beaded at her temples; the oppressive heat that had been bearing down on the city was turning damp with the storm building to the west. When the rain finally broke it would help cool the city off, but until then everything and everyone was covered in a fine sheen of moisture.

A soft clatter had the hair on the back of her neck rising and Misao's soft, yet furious swearing had the muscles clenching painfully.

"Misao!"

There was silence and then a word that Kaoru was certain did not apply to anything in this realm.

She didn't dare attempt to silence Misao again. Either her friends clever – if sweaty and overheated – fingers would get them into the desk or they wouldn't. And either luck would be on their side and that was where that short, fat balding little cricket of a man was keeping it… or it wouldn't be. But as long as they managed not to alert the very sensitive spells (or worse, the very sensitive guards) to their presence, they should manage just fine.

Still, the fact that they had found what was most certainly the remains of a rustic if well managed circle in the courtyard made her uneasy. Demons always complicated matters. Demons that required circles to pull through the barriers made her _nervous_. There were only a few that she wouldn't be able to feel right off and the way her luck had been holding lately…

They just really needed to get that amulet and get the hell out of this realm. Another muffled noise from Misao had her shifting silently, so that she was balanced on her toes and the strain of her current position was on her calves. Misao's normal knack for any sort of challenging lock was apparently failing her and they were running out of time.

Even as hyper aware as she was, she wasn't expect the mage that casually strolled into the office. Kaoru swore viciously in her mind. Their scouting report said that no one had the power it took to pull of that particular 'no see and no hear' spell.

The mage's attack was reactive and Kaoru dodged the very nasty spell swung her foot out, knocking the mage off balance. Her free hand yanked a herb packet open and she flung the salt and herb mixture directly into his face. The mage screamed, clawing at his eyes. She didn't want to waste the power silencing him so she clocked him in the jaw with the dagger and rolled to her feet. The sounds of magical and physical alarms were blaring; if the mage's twisted spell was the idea of 'instinctive' around here, she didn't want to stick around.

"Misao!"

"Got it, got it just… five seconds…."

Kaoru didn't bother looking to see what she was doing. Instead, she slammed the dagger into the door jam, blocking the immediate opening of the door. All the locks had disengaged to allow easy access to the troops and the dagger would hold as long as that demon wasn't fire based.

Reaching for a spell, she fed it just enough power to make the lettering spark along the paper and then left it on the floor. If anything was flung at their backs while they were making an escape it would create a distraction. Depending on the force of the spell flung at them, it could be a very large distraction.

"Got it!"

Her voice crowed triumph just as Kaoru flung herself over the top of the desk – scattering everything on the desk as the door blew open.

Fire demon.

Rolling to her knees, she shoved her hand straight into the desk, felt for the box that her informant had sworn was there, yanked it out – ignoring the bite and sting of a thousand tiny spell needles and twisted around the edge of the desk to see what they were dealing. Misao grabbed the box and used her second specialty magic to force it open.

The soft tap told her all she needed to know and she grasped her last pre-set roll of spells just as the fire demon strolled through the door. Her eyes clashed with molten yellow and she froze. Familiar red bangs framed a pale, sharp jawed face and the demon stilled, eyes holding hers. Shock slammed into her stomach and rose, twisting into a knot she couldn't swallow around. The sudden rise in temperature in the room made it almost as difficult to breathe at the small curve of thin lips.

When had he gotten wings?

That sort of power upgrade in just a few decades was alarming and meant that she had been right about him. It was the realization that _it was him _and that he was watching her with eyes that saw too much and he had gone and _lied to her_ – again – about his particular power level.

And she couldn't make herself move.

Thankfully, her partner could and did. The demon in front of her might have been a fire demon, but her partner was half water nymph and used it to their advantage whenever possible – and it had started to rain. Kaoru didn't pay any attention to the cadence of her words, instead she curled her fingers into the scroll she needed and waited for the chance to amplify whatever it was that Misao was doing.

K – _the demon_ noticed her movements and shifted forward, a graceful motion of muscle and bone, the snap of his wings flattening against his back a sign of his temper – then the world exploded into blues and greens and she let go her of own spell. Misao's grip on her hand jerked her up and backwards just as whatever K—_he_ was using as a counter spell hit her original scroll and the force of the explosion shoved them both out the open window and airborne.

Kaoru had the energy for a safety net but it would delay her ability to handle more than a single realm skip. But since broken bones were worse, she quickly fashioned what she wanted out of the remains of Misao's spell and used the cold of nymph magic to hide from the rush of heat that arched near where they had landed.

When she dared open her eyes again, they were on a roof several hundreds of miles and at least one realm away from that thrice damned city. Collapsing onto the roof, she panted. The last spell had hurt and her arm was still stinging from the alarm spells.

Wherever they were now, it was raining much harder than it had been… so that meant south and east and possible into one of the nymph realms. But for the moment they were safe and she could feel the heat of the tattoo against her spine already working to counteract whatever the safety spells had been.

"Damn." Misao said as she flopped. "You would think after fifty years of this, you would have gotten a little better at being a conductor, Kaoru."

"Oh shut it you." Kaoru said. "I would have heard that mage coming if you hadn't been swearing the air blue."

Misao made a rude noise. It was silent for several moments before she spoke again.

"So I take it you know the redhead?"

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**_Please Comment_**


	57. Disappear

This is a prequel of sorts to #34 Alarm.

Ravyn

* * *

The bar was quiet between the hours of 2 and 4 P.M, as long as there wasn't a game going on. Usually Kaoru avoided areas that had the potential to mix alcohol and sometimes magic with the usual college hormones. But Katsu had _rules_ and those allowed her to drag her calculus homework to a place where she could eat nachos, drink her one beer and work out why the numbers on her paper wouldn't work out properly.

So when the elf walked into the bar, his long red braid a bright flash of color in her number-numbed brain, she did little more than glance up under her lashes for a moment and then went straight back into her homework. She didn't like elves overly – they were prissy, pain-in-the-ass confident and usually pretty. The _pretty_ was actually her problem. She liked pretty things. They liked her too. She blamed her _other_ nature for it and had spent her entire life working around it. Suppressing your nature just made things worse – managing it made it easier to live with.

So the urge to walk over and curl her fingers through that bright, bright fall of hair was acknowledged and then dismissed. Even if the line of ink down the side of his neck disappeared into his shirt… which clung to an intriguing set of shoulders, it wasn't the first time she had dealt with the urge to touch. The last nineteen years of her life had been an insane mixture of living with parents that were completely human while trying to deal with the fact that she was _not_.

With only human folk lore as a guide for not only what she was – changeling – but what all the other creatures that made the back of her neck tingle with their appearances were… she had very little actual information to work with. Katsu was… human who had been raised by something that wasn't human. He just grinned when asked. Misao was most definitely a sprite. She just wasn't as forthcoming as to what exactly that meant other than she wasn't a lightning strike. (Kaoru personally felt that was something of a mercy, because Misao was already enough to handle without being the embodiment of _electricity_.)

What little had been explained to her suggested that she was exempt from most territory disputes. Kaoru had never had a real problem with another species. Most in fact seemed to be more interested in getting her into their bed than actually hurting her, which was why she stuck to places and people she knew.

Humans were _great_ shields.

… And this walk through her life was not going to get her homework done. But the elf was buzzing along the back of her skull like a _fairy_. Blowing out a long, slow breath she packed up her homework. Best to shift to her apartment. If she was this aware of someone, then it wouldn't be long before it started to attract other… species in to see what was causing that much of a buzz. Then she really would have her hands full.

Looking up to wave down Katsu for her tab, her gaze collided with the elf's – the intense, assessing look had to be responsible for the way her skin tingled. Even worse, the sharpness of the violet was brightening into hot, curious gold. She knew she was in trouble when the line of his body changed from suspicion to an open invitation.

That was the sort of thing that could get a girl into a _lot_ of trouble. Narrowing her eyes, she deliberately broke her gaze and found Katsu looking amused. Fighting back the urge to stick her tongue out, she arched a brow. He waved her off.

They'd settle later then.

Hefting her over-sized back pack, she landed on her feet just as the red-head strode into her personal space. He'd thankfully tapped down on whatever it was that made her want to pet him, but the sight of that too-pretty face up close was somehow worse. Up close, she could see the way the edges of his eyes _just_ tilted and how the sharp angles of his jaw and cheekbones brought attention to his mouth.

A very attractive mouth that was curving upwards at the edges.

Nineteen years of living within human expectations served her well. Instead of reaching out to see if he felt as good as he looked, Kaoru shifted her weight to her heels and frowned at him.

"What?"

Hands in his pockets, he mimicked her position – falling back on his heels. When he finally spoke, his voice was a pleasing tone somewhere between a baritone and a tenor. He lacked any defining accents, but the way he shaped the word was… odd. There was magic behind it.

"Lady."

Slightly creeped out, Kaoru studied him for another moment before hitching her straps a little higher on her shoulders and simply stepping around him and heading for the door. Whatever that elf wanted, she wanted nothing to do with it. Lick-able qualities or not, there was just some types of trouble she needed to stay away from.

* * *

_**Please Comment**_


	58. Trap

Hope you enjoy!

Ravyn

* * *

Kaoru felt like kicking the ground. Except of course, the ground was innocent of the crimes that had her outside in the pouring rain clad in nothing more than a silk dress Megumi had let her borrow for her date. The date she hadn't wanted to go on _anyway_ with one of Megumi's coworkers. The dress was ruined, she had lost her shoes half an hour ago, and it was _cold_.

The thin wrap jacket wasn't doing much besides giving her something to hold close to skin that was drenched through. It was summer. It was supposed to have only warm, occasional storms, not _this_! Even the cell phone in her pocket had betrayed her twenty minutes ago.

Still, even if it had meant a nice warm ride home, there was no way she would go back and beg him for a ride. Teeth clenching together, a reaction to her anger and the cold, she stomped along the path. Her bare toes digging into mud. Just the idea that he had the gall to take her down some dirt road in the hope to feel her up… This wasn't helping. If she could just figure out where in the hell he had brought her before she had been forced to bail…

'_What about that man was comfortable enough that you dosed off?_' Kaoru groaned mentally. '_You know the rules! Falling asleep isn't in the top five of what to do!_' Except that work had been grueling this week. If she wanted to make this month's payment on the dojo so she could get it back from the bank, she had to work overtime. Overtime was exhausting.

Feeling miserable, the urge to sit down and just cry was strong enough she had to bite her bottom lip as a distraction. Concentrating on the fact that she was out in the middle of nowhere, no idea where she was, and in a rainstorm would just send her into hysterics. She needed to find something else to concentrate on. Wrapping her arms around her body, she looked around the path for something, _anything_, to lock onto besides the endless darkness occasionally highlighted by lightening.

There.

Continuing to shiver in a bone jarring manner, she peered through the rain fall and blinked several times to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. When the flickering lights continued to manifest before her hopefully numb expression she trudged on. It took some time to get where she wanted to go, the lack of road slowing her down. Her feet weren't used to rocks and sticks, and the occasional odd something that just hurt.

The ground was softer once she got off the road. She was sure that the chattering of her teeth would have surely caught the attention of someone in the house it was so loud in her own ears, but besides the warm glimmering lights through the odd windows, _nothing_. As she approached, her stomach fluttered nervously. Licking her wet lips, she looked around. She had always trusted her gut, and something told her _something_was off…

Except she couldn't find it and she was out of choices.

It had to be nerves. Walking to a strange home in a strange place, it _had_to be nerves. Except the little niggling doubt wouldn't go away…

'_You don't have much choice._' Kaoru thought with a sigh. '_Let's just get this over with. The sooner you do, the sooner you can call someone to come and get you. If he is a serial killer…_ '

It was really just best not to think about that.

Kaoru walked up to the door that logically looked like it was the front, and rapped her knuckles across the wood. While she waited for someone to answer her knocking, she scanned the side of the house she could see. No sign of a garage or a car. Maybe it was separate from the house?

She sighed in relief when she heard the sounds of locks being turned. Giving herself a mental pep talk, she ducked her head when the light almost blinded her. Blinking several times, she finally looked back up. Watching her with a bit of bemusement in his face was a rather short man. Her plan to use his phone fled her mind. The nerves fluttering in her stomach increased and she took a deep breath to steady herself. When he didn't say anything, just watched her with that dark brow kicked up in question, she found the words.

"I would like to borrow an umbrella."

"An umbrella?" There was the faintest hint of disbelief in his voice, his eyes leaving her face to flicker out to the storm. Starring at him, trying to read his features, she frowned when something wavered over his face. Her imagination.

"It's raining," Kaoru explained in her best teachers-to-idiotic-student voice, unable to explain her feeling of alarm. "I apologize for interrupting your evening, but I have a ways to go." She bit her lip. "I can stop at the next house and ask for one if you don't have one."

"No," he said, the edges of his mouth curving. "I should have one. Why don't you come in out of the rain?" His eyes flickered down her outfit. "I might even have a jacket."

Still feeling suspicious, her gut always knew something she didn't, Kaoru stared at him.

"You're not a serial killer are you? Because that would really be the perfect ending to my evening…" she eyed his walls to see if he had any paintings on human skin or however people knew a serial killer lived in a home. His soft laughter greeted her as he shut the door as she stepped into his home, something about him or the home setting her teeth on edge.

"I have a fire going if you would care to warm up," he said with an easy smile on his face, the edges of his blue eyes crinkling. "Let me get you some towels…"

She blinked as a warm hand was settled into the small of her back and she was ushered into the living room. The room was made up of hand carved wooden furniture and old glass tables. The sort of glass that looked like it had been blown, so it was thick and slightly imperfect, instead of the mass produced glass she was used to. Antiques. There were several fur rugs on the wood floors, and all of the wall hangings were paintings or sketches of nature. Many of the themes were mythical. One of them was a water sprite rising from the river. She tried to decide if a mystical naked woman was still art-porn or just a male issue.

"Here are those towels," his voice startled her out of watching the nymph. She could have sworn the edges of the water were moving.

'_Too much time in the rain, Kamiya…_' He set them on the hearth.

"I also brought a sweater if you wanted to warm up a little. I am afraid I can't find an umbrella, but I will be happy to call a taxi for you Miss…"

Her stomach was doing that funny thing again. For some reason, giving him her name seemed dangerous. Watching him for a long moment she finally sighed.

"Kamiya," she ignored the way the edges of his lips curved with amusement. "A cab would be lovely." He nodded his head and Kaoru watched him leave feeling a bit disturbed.

As he turned away from her, Kaoru tried to figure out what was putting her on edge. His appearance was perfectly normal. Dark reddish-brown hair that went well with his blue eyes, even if his hair was longer than average; even good looks and a strong jaw lent his face character. Maybe she had simply been watching too many B horror movies and kept expecting him to sprout fangs or something…

'_Oh just admit it, this entire night has been creeping you out. You started out the evening with the scum of the earth and now you want to include every human being without breasts into that category as well._' It wasn't helping that this place had an old earthy feeling to it, that the wide glass windows were seamless that allowed her to see the vegetation slapping against it from the rain. '_You're just tired and jumping at shadows and very cold…_'

Picking up a towel, she ran it through her tangled hair in an attempt to remove as much water as she could before trying in vain to pat herself dry. '_Tomorrow I am going to call Megumi and give her an earful…'_

Something had her looking up, and she wasn't certain she should have been surprised to find the redhead watching her. There was something about the way he had moved that had been so quiet. It wasn't exactly human grace.

"My phone line is down," his face and voice were apologetic. "This far out into the country does odd things. It should be back up in a little bit." Kaoru frowned and twisted her fingers in the damp towel she had used to soak up some of the rain from her hair.

"I can finish the walk into town," she finally decided, "It's just rain." The fact that the sky was rumbling with thunder made her a little nervous, but not nearly as nervous as spending a long time with this man.

"I don't think that would be a good idea. There are several large predators out at this time of night," he said carefully. "It would be best if you stayed here until the phones are working again. I can offer you something warm to drink and a change of clothes?" He spread his hands in invitation and Kaoru rubbed her eyes. There was nothing wrong with that invitation.

"I had a date…." Kaoru said finally. "Do you think he would drive by here?"

Had he already? She didn't feel like asking, but perhaps jumping out of the car and stomping off while her date's nose bleed profusely hadn't been the best of ideas. Her earlier fury was fading and coming on its heels was the realization that her temper had gotten her into trouble again. Kaoru lifted a brow as she waited for the man to speak.

Now that she thought about it, he hadn't told her his name yet…

"I haven't seen sign of anyone except you tonight, Miss Kamiya," there was a glint of amusement in his eyes. Was that a flicker of yellow behind the blue? "My neighbors are few and far between this far into the countryside."

"Oh…are we that far from town?" Her brows tucked together as she attempted to estimate how long exactly she had napped in the car. Covering her unease, she pulled the sweater he had given her over her head. Even with his sweater on she felt a little vulnerable and she was still very damp in places that were fairly uncomfortable.

"A good… half-hour's drive I would say." He agreed. "I think it's worth it, however. Let me find you something to wear other than that sweater and you can change. It's going to take some time for the phones to turn on and then some more time for that taxi to make its way up here." He gave her a slight smile and turned on his heel and disappeared down a hall.

Kaoru frowned. She hadn't told him she was going to stay. Maybe the weather would clear up. A half-hour drive was a long hike and the cell phone she had in her little clutch bag was drenched through. Even if it worked once the battery was dry, there was no guarantee it would get reception this far into the woods.

Kaoru sighed, rubbing her face. She had to be a mess. Lifting a finger she wiped below her eye and was relieved that all of her makeup seemed to have washed off. It would have been embarrassing to show up looking like she had been mugged. _'Why are you suddenly worried about that?'_

"Miss Kamiya?"

She turned and found him half-in the room, his body angled towards a different hallway.

"The guest bathroom is this way," he offered, tilting his head to follow the line of his shoulders. She moved forward and was thankful that the rain had rinsed her feet as she walked up the cobblestone path.

"If you give me your things I will dry them." He suggested as he led her into a well lit little bathroom. The tub was curious and if she didn't look at it straight on there was something off about it from the corner of her eyes.

"Thank you, but I think the dress is doomed," Kaoru said. She turned and offered him a faint smile. "I do appreciate your concern…" she let the sentence hang, waiting for some sort of an answer. Using his tactic against him.

"You may call me Kenshin." He told her. "I'll make that drink while you change."

The door closed behind him.

X

Kenshin moved into the kitchen unable to help the small, satisfied smile playing across his lips. This Miss Kamiya really was unaware of what she was getting herself into. It was the most_ amusement_he had had all year. His first problem had been being forced to deal with that nitwit who wanted the throne and then the utter boredom that came with leaving behind the stupidity of high court. Now, on a night that most humans rightly stayed indoors… this little human female had decided to knock on his door.

He pulled the ground coco powder from his cabinets and set about making her a warm drink. He was hard pressed to hold his amusement in check, but the house responded to it, the lights flickering in question. There was a startled yelp from the bathroom and he finally allowed himself to relax a little.

Apparently she was a little clumsy. He liked a little clumsy. Perfection was another one of those boring things too many women strove for. When she walked back out of the bathroom she had tied her hair back and was rubbing her hip. She looked like a teenager in his clothing.

"I made hot chocolate," he told her easily, the human term rolling from his tongue smoothly. Effortlessly. "Why don't you go back to the fire and I will bring it in when I am finished?"

Those curiously bright eyes stared at him with that curious, quiet watchfulness.

"Are you sure you don't want any help?"

The little human was naturally suspicious, but that just made it more fun. She was either suspicious that he would put something into the drink or she just didn't trust strangers. Putting something into the drink would break the rules and take away the game. Then he would have to give up the prize.

"Please," he said as he turned away. "Make yourself comfortable. For as long as you are here, my home is your home."

He couldn't quite suppress his smile this time.

X

Kaoru glanced at the clock and frowned when she realized it was only a little past midnight. It felt like it was so much later. The nap from earlier that evening wasn't helping to keep her awake. The slow nervous fluttering in her stomach was still there, but it was starting to ease.

She supposed it was the house that had her one edge. The shadows just weren't lining up with what her head told her should be there. Kenshin had done his best to get her to relax, bringing out the drinks and a blanket for her feet.

She was just being paranoid.

X

Kenshin slanted another glance at his guest. Internal amused had his mouth curving again. She really was a stubborn little package. To his entertainment, she had been fighting the sudden lack of stress and the warmth of his home; her lashes fluttering closed only to snap open a moment later. Forcing his expression into something a human would be comfortable with, he set his book down.

"I'm going to straighten up the kitchen," he was careful to keep the pitch of his voice smooth so not to wake her any more than necessary. "If you need anything, just ask."

He cleaned slowly, willing to give her time to herself. They were always more comfortable alone. The mugs were set back in place, the ground cacao put away and the pot cleaned. Wiping his hands clean, he examined the storm outside through a window with a smile.

Moving back into the living room he let a different smile all together curve along his mouth. She had sprawled, her head cushioned on the arm of the couch. She had apparently been watching the fire when she fell asleep, the blanket only covering from her hips to her feet. Her round features, so different from sidhe women, were smooth in sleep.

With a groan, he let the hold on his illusion magic slip. His home shifted in thankfulness and the itch behind his eyes finally stopped. Moving to his prize in two quick steps, he chuckled as the girl made a noise as he picked her up.

Protesting even in sleep. Pity it wouldn't help her.

She settled after a moment, the faint rumblings of amusement in his chest calming her.

A thought cancelled the flames in his fire as he moved back towards the guest bedroom.

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**_Please Comment_**


	59. Slow

_Softly._"He wants to hunt you slow."

Kaoru closed her eyes. "You don't know that."

"I know. I can tell. He will hunt you, make you need him; tangle you in his web so you can never leave. Is that what you want?"

"I don't know."

"You better decide before you lose your choice."

Kaoru clenched her hands on the windowsill, refusing to answer.

There was a shuddering breathing. "Maybe I'm already too late."

She closed her eyes.

* * *

**_Please Comment_**


	60. Ignorant

Here you go!

Ravyn

* * *

She told herself she should have known better. Except she hadn't. She didn't. Even now, she was confused and uncertain how things had spiraled out of control so quickly.

A year after college, she found herself in sole custody of her 12 year old brother. She had packed her bags, quit her job and headed home to deal with a teenage brother, a mortgage, and all those adult responsibilities that made life exciting and painful. The change had been abrupt and difficult. Just as she thought she had gotten her fingers firmly around whatever trouble she and her brother could get into, Yahiko had come home with bite marks on his neck.

Two hours later they were on a train and she was trying to erase their lives. It didn't matter that Yahiko had escaped. He had left behind his taste on something's tongue and that someone would do what it could to find his prey. They ran hard east. It took six months to delete every record that she could find. Six months for them to have never existed. What little saving she had left, what she dared spare from selling the dojo, she put into paying hackers. Nothing was as important as her younger brother's life.

If only she had known how that would have made her fair game.

The bite had changed Yahiko. He was too sensitive to shadows even in the daylight. The marks had healed, but no amount of Neosporin could keep it from scarring. He would wake at night in a cold sweat, gasping for air as if he couldn't breathe, insisting that something was there.

Kaoru read every single book she could get her hands on and the herbs had seemed to help. Yahiko slept better. Salt on the windows to keep out the shadows. It wasn't comfortable but they were living. But none of that helped her when the vampire crashed into their apartment on the run from a hunter.

X

After months of nightmares, the sudden chance of the silence woke her. Sitting up straight in bed, her fingers closed around the hilt of her bokken. Yahiko was asleep, buried under blankets and pillows. Rolling out of bed, she rubbed her eyes and checked the clock. 2:30. Not early enough for the threat of the sun to send shadows closer to walls and scurrying to whatever lairs they had dug out for themselves. So why was she awake?

Her stomach trembled with adrenaline from whatever it had been that woke her, and she needed something to distract her, so she headed into the kitchen. Two nights ago, a young woman had been killed four buildings down an hour before dawn. Any time someone was murdered so close to her brother, she was nervous. She would have yanked him then, putting them onto a train to find someplace new, someplace safe, except she didn't have enough to pay for the break in the lease yet.

Maybe she should have risked it.

Resting her hip against the counter, she studied the tacky pattern on the tile. How much longer could she risk staying here? Yahiko wasn't showing any signs of unease but… Tugging her fingers through her bangs, she tried to mentally calculate how much money they would need to move to a new city. The move two months ago had strained their resources and they hadn't recovered yet.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Twisting around, she slammed her bokken out in a precise, drilled move. Very few things could hurt a vampire, but wood and cold iron where two of them. The collision sent a hard vibration up her arms. The thing hissed, fangs glinting in eerie light of the microwave and Kaoru swung again.

"Yahiko!" The scream came out panicked, too high. She side stepped another clawed swipe and used her bokken to buy her some space. How many where there? She didn't have his ability to sense shadows. She twisted against, brining her bokken down hard on the arm reaching for her. This one was too slow. There had to be more than one.

The sound of the shot gun hurt her ears. There was a loud scream and she slapped the bokken out, catching the thing in front of her in the head. It couldn't be a vampire. They were too fast. This was slow. Scrambling forward, she rushed back to where she had left Yahiko. The shotgun blasted again as she skidded into the room and her heart stopped as she attempted to find the source of blast, knowing it might hit her.

Her terrified gaze found Yahiko and something inside her stilled at the expression in his eyes. He was facing the window, fingers scrambling to reload the gun. There was a snarling behind her, and she twisted into the wall to protect her back. Out of the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of two figures falling towards the window just as hot air ghosted down the side of her neck. Bony fingers grasped her wrist and she was flung out of the room. Glass shattered as she wrestled for control, fighting to keep the jagged fangs away from her neck. Fingers twisted into her hair and her neck arched as her head was lifted and then slammed back into the floor. The world darkened as she heard Yahiko screaming.

X

Her tongue felt like cotton candy and she was wrapped up so tightly in a blanket that she had to wiggle to breathe. Trying not to throw up at throbbing nausea that movement brought, she took deep even breaths, suddenly becoming aware of voices coming from somewhere else.

"She isn't going to like it!"

"I'm not giving you a choice."

The second voice was _not_Yahiko. Shivering, she kept her eyes closed and tried to make sense of what was being said.

"You don't understand," Yahiko started again.

"I will not explain myself again, Yahiko. What is done is done. Protocol will be met. You two are in my care now. You will be staying with me." He didn't raise his voice; instead there was an edge of steel that Kaoru could feel wherever she was. Her first reaction was to sink back into the pillows and to avoid arguing with him.

Except he was ordering her brother around and doing it in _her home_. Taking a deep, centering breath she escaped from the blanket and sat up. Shutting her eyes tightly, she waited for the world to settle before cautiously opening them again. It wasn't tilting wildly anymore, even if the edges of her vision were a little fuzzy. She could deal with fuzzy.

"But… you don't… Kaoru!"

Someone had to teach that kid to use his inside voice, Kaoru thought as she schooled her features into something a little more reassuring. Yahiko looked relieved to see her awake and after a quick glance at him, she concentrated on the man next to him.

He was taller than Yahiko, but only by a few inches. She relaxed a little when she realized he wasn't physically able to tower over her. The bright red of his hair hurt her suddenly sensitive eyes a little, but that was quickly forgotten as she met his gaze. His eyes were the color of rich toffee and just as warm, framed by dark lashes, watching her just as intently as she was watching him. He hadn't moved from where he had been leaning against her low counter, his arms crossed over his chest, but it felt like he was suddenly filling the room.

She didn't like it. "Who are you?"

Those yellow eyes flickered at her, but before he could speak Yahiko jumped in.

"Those were vampires and he," Yahiko jerked his thumb to emphasize who _he_was, "says that they tracked me." For a moment he looked like a thirteen year-old-boy was supposed to look like after almost dying, twice. "He killed them."

"Thank you," Kaoru said finally, having considered several different ways of answering the question Yahiko had left hanging in the air, intentionally or not. The man just nodded his eyes never leaving her face, but the lines around his eyes had relaxed a little. Before Kaoru could find a way to ask what she wanted to ask, Yahiko had started again.

"He wants us to come back to live with him."

"No." The words were automatic and just as stubborn as the redhead's earlier order.

"I told you she wouldn't like it." Yahiko said in a slightly triumphant tone. He looked relieved. What exactly had he done to those… that… She swallowed.

"I said you didn't have a choice." The statement wasn't directed at Yahiko, but at her.

"Thank you," Kaoru repeated. "But _no_. Yahiko and I will stay here."

She narrowed her eyes at him, determined for him to know that she didn't like to be bullied. She flicked her eyes to her brother to make sure he was okay, and when her eyes moved back, the redhead was suddenly a lot closer.

"You don't have that option." He said softly. "If you and Yahiko stay here, you will both die. Since I just spent a considerable amount of time killing the two vampires hunting you, and then mending your concussion, protocol must be met."

Kaoru narrowed her eyes. If he had healed her head, clearly he wasn't a doctor because all this moving around was making her head _swim_.

"I have no idea what you mean by protocol, and as much as I appreciate the fact that we are both still alive," not whatever that… that… thing _was_, "and…"

Her words were cut off when he reached around her and wrapped the blanket firmly around her shoulders. Before she could connect his movements with the obvious results, she was lifted off the couch and the world spun. Shutting her eyes tightly, she clenched her teeth as she waited for things to stop their maddening spin.

"Even breaths," the man holding her ordered softly. "Just concentrate on breathing."

"I'm fine," Kaoru gritted out, but didn't open her eyes. "Put me down."

"Yahiko, please get the bags you put together. Now." His tone held that edge to it again and Kaoru had the urge to hit him, except her arms were tangled in the material of the blanket. He didn't seem to care that she was struggling weakly. Instead, his arms tightened their hold and hot breath ghosted along the rim of her ears.

"You should know, I bite."

Kaoru's mouth had always gotten the best of her.

"Is that a warning?" She opened her eyes to stare at him, challenging him.

Those long lashes lowered to shield his dark gold eyes from her view, before they lifted again, smoldering with some hidden amusement. "It might be a promise."

"I'm ready!" Yahiko said as he walked in, carrying the largest bags they had.

'I'm not.'

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	61. Come

This was originally a birthday fic for Some Scribbles.

Ravyn

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The world was on fire.

Ducking around another corner filled with the heat and light of the inferno, Kaoru set her teeth and continued her headlong rush down the junk-filled alleyway. If she had the time to panic, now would seriously be the time. A girl knew there was serious, apocalypse type trouble when the fact that the raging bonfire around her wasn't the biggest problem at the moment.

"Sano!"

The earpiece was crackling with static and she cursed again as something far less welcome than her partner's voice caught her attention. Ignoring the slow growing stitch in her side, Kaoru forced her short legs to move faster. She'd been in this maze for too-long and she was starting to feel it. Looking down, she cursed. The skin along her wrist bones were starting to darken. If her tattoos were starting to show that meant she was pulling a lot harder on her magic to purify the air around her than she had previously thought.

A sound like a large hunting cat made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Fucking. Zombies. _Again_. If she ever found out who thought it would be a good idea to experiment on animals with that particular virus before humans she would hang them by their entrails.

Or to set the damn city on fire to 'cleanse' it. Stupid, stupid, _stupid_!

Another sharp, twisting pain in her side as she skidded on the loose ground and not for the first time, did she wish she was capable of manipulating something other than _air_. While it was useful in a situation like this, allowing her to breathe in the worst air conditions as long as there was oxygen, it did nothing for her physical endurance. Physical endurance was important. Like when she was being chased by a large predator turned into something nearly _un-killable_.

But if she didn't get out of here soon she was going to lose control. Between the zombies and the fire it would make this situation even worse than it already was. Hurricane force winds _did not_ belong in the middle of what was an elemental fire.

"_Sanosuke_!"

This time, the static crackled and then gave way to the familiar voice she had been trying to get into contact with for the past half-hour dash through hell's inferno. If only they had known the plans to burn this city to ground before they sent in operatives…

"Kaoru? Holy shit! She's back on the line."

"_Get me_ _out of here_!"

"Working on it! Just find a place to hunker down that isn't burning and we'll get to you, okay?"

Another one of those hair-raising cries. That had better not be a _pride_. "Sano, I don't think you have a _clear grasp_ of the situation."

"No, no we got it." His tone was reassuring. "Shinomori says…"

Kaoru cut him off. Ruthlessly. "_Sano_. I am being chased by a pride of fucking zombies. It is like Dante's Inferno and my _tattoos are showing_."

Elemental power was tricky, especially for those with rank. The higher an individual rose, the more difficult it was to control every nuance of their abilities. Air and Fire were particularly difficult in the wrong circumstances. To combat that, the gods had devised a way to imbed seal-magic permanently into their skin with blood-ink. It was more of a safety catch than an actual lid but it took either extreme stress or pleasure to bring either to the surface involuntarily. The fact that her tattoos were rising unbidden to the skin was _not, _strictly speaking_,_ _a good sign_.

There was a pause. "How much showing?"

Sweet mother of the gods. "Sano. In a minute I'm going to have to start climbing to avoid getting _eaten_. There's too much fire for me to climb high. I'll incinerate myself. _How much do you think is showing?"_

There was a rumble and part of the building in front of her crumbled, creating a wall. A wall that was currently _on fire_. Kaoru never slowed. Air-steps weren't exactly easy but she had more than enough practice. The extreme heat of the boiling pot she was in made it hard to shape the gases because they wanted to explode. It was easier if she didn't watch her feet as she sprinted _up_ before she went across and then back down. Dropping back to the ground, she tried to pay attention to the half-shouting going on in her eardrums.

"Okay, we think we have a plan. But you're going to have to hook with another operative that's currently in the city."

Kaoru skidded to a stop and breathed heavily for a moment, clasping her hands over her head as she forced her lungs to accept oxygen she was frantically pulling from the smoke and ash filled environment. Her eyes scanned the area she was in and she winced as an explosion of gases and glass erupted behind her. "Sano, how exactly am I supposed to _find_ someone in this mess?"

"He'll find you." Sano drew out a long breath. "You're going have to um, tattoo up."

Kaoru saw something move in the shadows and took off again. "I'm _already_ tattoo-ing up."

"Yeah, but he's going to be looking for a Queen of Air." Sano made an apologetic noise at her groan of protest. That was a rank she didn't throw around willingly. "I know, but the only ones left are you and a couple of elementals. Besides, you know this one – kinda."

Glass scattered across the ground in front of her and crunched under her feet. She grimaced. The buildings around here hadn't been hit as hard with the first. So why…

Just keep moving. Find a way to survive and just read the damn report on what exactly happened later. Another explosion and this one seared over her skin like too-hot steam and she gasped as she struggled to breath. The sensation of pin-prickles seared over her skin as another tattoo lifted and she dug in stubbornly to keep the worst of the air from rushing to her. _Concentrate_.

She caught her breath as Sano's words finally penetrated and she frowned. The only elemental who would have been comfortable in this mess would have been Fire and she stayed away from them since she had found herself holding the rank of Queen. In order for a partnering to work you had to be of equal rank and a Queen of Air with a Dragon of Fire was a combustible combination she didn't have the sanity for.

It was why she was partnered with Sanosuke for most of her work now. Dragon of Earth was decidedly less useful in some instances but they _worked_. But she had risen up the ranks and she _had_ worked with a number of people so who…

"I know him?"

"He was at my birthday party. Anyway, he says he remembers _you_ so I suppose that's all that counts in a situation like this. Just don't stop the redhead's lungs, okay?"

Kaoru almost tripped. Surely… Kaoru bit her lip hard enough to sting. There wasn't any way, _surely_, that they were talking about the same redhead. She was distracted enough by the thought that she almost missed the way a zombie-cat-_thing_ lunged at her. It hit a solid wall of concrete _air_ and splattered straight up and _out_ as she bent the air-shield in a concave circle to absorb and divert the impact.

It was still _really_ gross.

She felt the next seal go as she dug deep for power as felt several more of those things approach and the burning along her shoulder blades as the second-largest tattoo manifested. Air currents generated by the force of her need spun around her like a wind-funnel for a moment and she worked to control the outburst. If she wasn't careful, she'd feed the fire and incinerate herself. If she snapped any more seals she'd rank-out and it would be a race to see what would destroy the city first – the hurricane of her power or the fire when it boiled outwards from the thrust of the wind.

Another shadow sprung from the inferno but this one was intercepted by a sword the white-hot color of the heart of the fire. Immediately the air around her felt cooler, easier to control and she managed to pull the over-heated winds back to her body and directed the energy to clearing enough of the smoke to see. Since she didn't doubt for a single second that the fire-elemental near her he was absorbing all this fire like a kid in the candy shop, she forced the air around him to purify. Fire or not, he needed to _breathe_. Those flame-yellow eyes caught hers for a second and then he _moved_.

Better him to deal with the zombie-cats than _her_.

When it was over, all that was left was the over-heated smell of burnt flesh and the fall of ashes as the smoke crept back into the area. They had bought themselves a few minutes but it didn't seem that he was in a hurry to leave. Instead, he turned and those slightly-tilted eyes studied her.

"When I said I wanted to see you again, I didn't image this was the scenario in which that would happen." He said finally. Kaoru mentally agreed as she studied him as well. The long length of his hair was pulled high and away from his face; sharp cheekbones smudged with soot. His bare arms showed off the beautifully detailed Ouroboros that curled around his left bicep; as well as the matching set of half-moon cuts that were just showing under the frayed edges of the missing sleeves. She didn't seen any other power-marking on him but it wasn't uncommon to hide them either. He wasn't under nearly the same amount of stress that she was.

She was very deliberately ignoring where he had gotten those scratches.

So the only other sign of his strength was the blade in his hand and she _could feel _the power coming off him. She was… stunned. If Sano had invited a Dragon of Fire to his birthday celebration and hadn't told her, she was gutting him with a dull spoon. And Sano _had told him_ she was a Queen of Air. Dammit! As if reading her thoughts, his eyes gleamed at her.

"You didn't mention you were a Queen."

Kaoru snorted and looked pointedly at the sword before flicking her eyes to the tattoo on his arm. He clearly hadn't mentioned he was a Dragon-rank, either. "You didn't mention _those_."

He continued to watch her for a moment and Kaoru almost blushed as his brow arched and his eyes roamed her body, lingering on the exposed skin that was clearly inked. She knew exactly what kind of trouble that single minded intensity could get her into. "I think I'm a little insulted. I don't remember raising even one of those."

This time she did flush. They were in the middle of a fire-fight – literally – and he wanted to discuss sex. _His performance_ when they'd _had_ sex. Glaring because she was working _very hard_ not to think about last night right this instance; she flinched when Sano's voice cut through their conversation.

"… You had better not be talking about sex at _my_ birthday party. _I mean it, Kaoru_. My ears are bleeding. _Bleeding_. Get your asses moving and do not bring this topic back up where I can hear it!"

Kenshin looked amused and pointedly ran his eyes down her body, making it clear that his intention was definitely not to let this one go. Kaoru was irritated to find herself caught between the need to run and an interest that sleeping with him hadn't managed to dull. Fisting her hands, she watched him warily. If she had known what he was – well, it would have explained that sparking, impossible to ignore chemistry between them for one. She might not have been as tempted to see how that had translated between the sheets.

Brows tucked together, she ignored Sano's continued hissing to get moving.

There were rules to deal with this. Understandings and regulations and ways to keep from finding herself too entangled with something she couldn't handle but she couldn't find the will power to use those against him. Not when the memory of him in her bed was so fresh.

"I don't _want_ a Dragon of Fire."

His smile was amused and knowing as his eyes scanned over her again, as if memorizing.

"Fortunately, I like a challenge." His gaze caught the glint from the edge of his blade, blazing to white-hot. "I already know the prize will be worth it."

The blatant reminder of how good it had been – how much _better_ it could be if she wasn't holding her element so tightly – made her stomach tremble, flushing hotly as Sano started blustering threats. Her mind was determined to remind her of how exactly he had felt under her hands and pressed up the length of her, how he had drank her in like a starving man… She forced herself to shake off the promise in his eyes and smile and _not_ rip out her ear piece. Nothing good could come from encouraging him any more than she already had.

Another large explosion rocked the ground and she reacted on instinct, catching the glass and metal shrapnel and tossing it back towards the buildings. Her element struggled in her control for a moment, until a sudden lack of any heat at all; her breath racing out in a cloud of frozen vapor gave her what she needed to keep from cracking under the strain.

"We'll finish this later." The steel of his tone told her where he thought they would have their discussion and she narrowed her eyes at him. "We need to find somewhere less… combustible. Those re-animated cats won't be far behind either."

"Zombies cats," Kaoru muttered.

"Move east and stop talking, or I'm coming through his earpiece to strangle you both." Sano barked his voice hard. "We've got another group of those things closing in on your position and you need to move.

Kenshin gave her one more hot, piercing glance and then took off in a jog instead of the headlong sprint that had gotten her this far earlier. Kaoru grimaced as she followed. If the way her eyes kept drifting to watch his muscles move under cloth said anything, she was in trouble.

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**_Please Comment_**


	62. Cancer

Sano stared at the man sitting on his couch with narrowed eyes. The redhead was familiar and it took several moments for him to place him, but when he did he felt the urge to pound something. This was the idiot in Calculus. The one who had offered to tutor his best friend and innocent, innocent roommate. Well, there wasn't anything innocent about the man taking up space in his apartment and breathing glade candle scented air. Oh no.

No. The calm violet eyes were missing anything resembling respect or fear for the bodily harm Sano would inflict on him if continued to pursue this line of dating. Kaoru was off limits. He had made that _clear_ throughout the last two years of school. He'd even managed to have calm, reasonable conversations with a couple of frat boys.

But this… this short, red-haired man had the gall to simply look amused.

Setting his beer down, Sano stared at him a little harder. "She isn't interested."

The edges of the redhead's mouth didn't move but he still managed to broadcast his growing amusement. Sano didn't like it. He decided it was proof that he was a creepy little man who needed to be far, far away from his best friend.

"That's not what she said when I asked."

"_I'm_ telling you now."

"I'd still rather hear it from her."

"See, that's something I don't care about at all." Sano said mildly.

The redhead shrugged and kept his smile. Sano clenched his teeth and wondered if Kaoru would lend him her truck to hide a body. Before he could lunge into action, the sound of keys unlocking the front door caught his attention and rather haggard looking Kaoru stumbled into the apartment. Sweat dotted her temples and the MP3 player strapped to her arm told him she had been running. She didn't notice them at first and when she did, she froze, starring at the man on the couch before a blush started to work its way up her throat.

"I forgot."

To further his agitation, the redhead simple broadened his smile. Those creepy eyes slid down her sweat slicked body with obvious appreciation before he returned his eyes to hers. That Kaoru's cheeks were now pink with more than just exercise left Sano's right fist twitching.

"That's fine. I'll wait."

"Or you could just come back. Next week." Sano said helpfully. 'Or _never_…'

Kaoru's eyes narrowed and she turned her attention to him. Sano refused to flinch. _Refused_.

"What have you two been doing while I was out?" her voice was heavy with suspicion and Sano just smiled. Or tired to. It was hard to smile when that damn redhead was looking amused and Kaoru was looking at him as if contemplating where the nearest and most painful weapon was.

"Just talking."

Setting a hand on her hip, Kaoru stared at him and finally nodded. "Fine."

Sano breathed a sigh of relief. To himself.

Her attention shifted back to the man on the couch. "Give me fifteen minutes."

"Take all the time you need."

Well, wasn't that just brilliant; there she went, blushing again. Feeling even more aggravated, Sano stared at the man on his couch. Who was still ignoring him. Setting his teeth, he sat back and waited.

Oh yes, he and this… _this_… obvious idiot would have words.

As soon as the shower kicked on and hid what he was doing to her date.

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	63. Love

Kenshin slept more now than she was accustomed to. He stirred just enough for her to catch a glimmer of violet when she entered his room before his body sank back into whatever state of rest he was allowing himself. Megumi had told her not to worry, that it was just his body recovering from what Enishi had put him through.

She still worried.

Even sitting next to him, fingers threaded through his, counting his breaths as he finally allowed himself to rest, she worried. What had happened while she was gone? What happened that he'd… that he'd allowed this? Kenshin hadn't hidden behind his smile – he hadn't even really _smiled_ – he was shying away from direct contact. But if she managed to hold him, it took longer from him to pull away.

And his eyes had opened just enough to let her know that he was aware of her when her hand and tangled with his. His fingers had tightened just a little before he had relaxed. Biting her lip, she traced the line of his knuckles, knowing that her touch might wake him but needing the assurances that he was still there.

If anything, Enishi had simply reaffirmed the feelings that had been growing since she met this man. She wished there was more between them than simple, stolen moments while he rested and she held his hand. The fact that he was sleeping through this…

It made her heart hurt.

Because she wanted to believe that it meant he was finally accepting what was between them.

Even if the only proof she had was that he was letting her have this simple touch.

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**_Please Comment_**


	64. Pickpocket

Kaoru stared at her front door as if it was the enemy. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she took several deep breaths and deliberately lifted onto her tip toes and searched for where she had left her spare key. It _still_ wasn't there which meant the next time she saw Sano she would going to strangle him. Slowly. Because she knew this entire mess was his fault. She always put the spare key back, always. If he was out making copies to hand out to certain friends again, she'd beat him and _then_ kill him.

Letting her forehead drop onto the door, she was about to just kick the damn lock down when the sounds of keys rattling caught her attention. Slowly, she tilted her head and found herself starring at the very last person she ever wanted to see. Holding her keys.

She narrowed her eyes into slits. "What are you doing here?"

"Lose something?"

She bared her teeth.

Kenshin smiled and wiggled the keys again.

Kaoru fingers curled into fists. "Where did you get those?"

"You might have dropped them."

"I did not!"

His smile showed off too many teeth. "Then perhaps I borrowed them."

"You pick pocketed me?"

He shrugged and took a step forward. "Maybe."

Shifting her weight, she contemplated lunging. His smile widened.

"You might not want to do that…"

Oh yes… she was going to kill Sano. For introducing her to his stupid, stupid friends and forcing her to deal with them when he wasn't home. Especially this one.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?"

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	65. Peace

Her apartment was warm. Curling her bare legs to her chest, Kaoru leaned her head against the decent window of her apartment. It was raining and the glass fogged where her breath touched it, but her view outside was still pretty unimpeded. Not many were on the street today, both the weather and the weekend encouraging everyone to stay inside and hide.

The sound of the shower kicking on brought a faint smile to her lips. He had made it back earlier than even she had hoped for and that meant they had a few extra days to themselves before he left again. She was going to have to call Misao and cancel their plans for that afternoon. She had no interest in getting dressed and braving the weather with Kenshin home and safe…

… and in her shower.

The smile hovering at the corners of her mouth lifted a little further. Reaching for her coffee mug, she cut her eyes to the shower and considered. The door was open just enough to be an invitation – even after that particular morning wake up – but just listening to the noises he brought to her apartment was enough. Just knowing he was here.

Knowing that for another few days, he was just hers.

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	66. Writer's Choice: 2

Her hands were cold. Whether the cold was born from a chill in the room or the fear eating at her nerves, she wasn't sure. Curling them tightly in the smooth fabric of her heavy skirts, she shivered. Stepping a little closer to the fire the servants had lit when she had been shown to the sitting room, she willed the heat to thaw out her half-frozen fingers. She wished she hadn't said no to that coffee, even if her stomach was rolling in knots born of nerves.

To go from the warmth of her rivers and hills to this ice capped landscape terrified her. She could feel the magic of the dragons around her moving through the thick, stonewalls that captured the heat of the fire even as it bled with cold. Her magic couldn't touch the heat of. She'd tried. The floors were warm enough that she didn't feel a chill through her thick boots – another reminder of how different this landscape was. Not for the first time since she started this cold journey did she wish she had carried even a hint of the fire element. This whole mountain was a giant ball of warmth and explosive power – she was more interested in the _warmth_ right then, but she couldn't tap into even a hint of it.

The place itself wasn't _exactly_ a fortress, but it wasn't the sprawling estate she had grown up on either. Surrounded by frozen peaks and walls of thick, jagged ice, the free flowing water ran deep below the earth and they had built directly on top of the volcano. Kaoru sighed. It was an absolute fabulous way of managing to keep your home from falling into the hands of a rival clan but it was going to be miserable going until she adjusted. Nothing said _Stay Out _like the possibility of your home _exploding_ _out from under_ you in shower molten rock.

But the very things that made it an amazing place to raise your family and clan in the relative peace made it a difficult place to cultivate. There were ways – she'd heard rumors of large growing caverns – but some things just didn't do well in hot caverns. They'd needed a better source for some of the more finicky grains and animals. Which was where her Clan had eventually come into play – for the past century, the mountain clan had been working to finalize their alliance with her hidden valley clan. In exchange for the open trade between their people, the fire elementals would help protect the borders of the Hidden Valley from other clans who wished their territories to include the fertile farm lands they carefully tended. The Valley clan was mostly wind elements, and while the fire elements bent their gift to war, most of those who lived in the valley were scholars and negotiators who preferred peace to bloodshed.

Both clans desperately needed the others resources.

Humans were becoming a problem. They bred quick, held grudges, and always wanted _more_. The long-lived races were slowly growing tired of their constant need to expand and were lashing out. Unfortunately, these races were slow to reproduce and slow to anger, so by the time they _saw_ the problem, numbers had become a factor they couldn't ignore. Even her clan was recognizing this fact. Where once the children with the more violent elements of the wind had been taught little more than the control needed, they were now being encouraged to test and learn the extent of what they could do. But those children were born rare and far apart.

The alliance had been welcome.

In an attempt to seal the alliance each clan had sent a member of the founding bloodline to intermarry into the clan. The Hidden Valley clan had sent Tomoe Yukishiro, niece to the Clan Lord and the Ice Mountain Clan had sent Muto Shogo. Shogo had married her Clan Lord's sister and over the two years that he had lived in the valley, they had seemed to be moving in a direction that suggested the marriage might become more than just a necessity. Kaoru was happy for them. But something had gone seriously wrong with Tomoe's match to the Ice Mountain Clan Lord's heir – and a century of work had nearly been destroyed.

Kaoru hadn't known much about Tomoe, even though they were distant family. Their skills were on opposite spectrums from each other – in both power and use. Kaoru struggled with the control of her talent while Tomoe only needed to refine hers. Tomoe was gifted in the minor elements, controlling soft breezes and the rare ability to purify. They were only a few years apart bit the distance and Kaoru's spotty control had kept them from sharing even the most basic of classes or friends.

From what few – _very few_ – rumors she could gather that it was because of Tomoe's softer gift that she had struggled. The mountain life was harsh and difficult – elemental gifts ruled their lives to a certain extent. Shogo had certain seemed to burn from the inside out, always taking on a situation from the most direct angle with the intent to subdue his problems by sheer force of will. For a woman accustomed to quiet evenings and warm sunshine, being thrown into the mix of violence and constant, scorching heat or frigid cold must have been a shock to Tomoe's system.

She didn't know _how_ things had fallen apart, however. Most of what she knew was only guesswork. In fact, _all_ the clan knew was that Tomoe had betrayed her clan husband and taken his cousin as her lover. They didn't know if Tomoe still lived, if she had been executed for her crime, or what had become the man she had betrayed them all with.

It had taken weeks to decide what the clans would do now. Shogo was working out his marriage and the alliance still held, but it was shaky. There had been letters back and forth between Clan Lords that no one knew the contents of just that each night there was strain on the Lords face. Then, a month ago, Kaoru had received her own missive to report to the Clan Lord and his council.

They were sending her to be married into the Ice Mountain Clan. Their hope was that a second wife would find a way to heal the breach of trust. They had decided that she was the most likely to make the new life work – of the few woman left in their family line, she was the only with enough experience and a gift wild enough to possibly survive. They did not wish to make the same mistake twice. So Kaoru found herself sitting the cool room waiting to discover who she was to marry.

Kaoru sighed and wondered if she stood any closer to the fire if her skirts would catch.

No one had come out and said it, but it hadn't taken Kaoru long to understand why they were sending her. In all ways that mattered, she was the complete opposite of Tomoe. Where Tomoe had been directly related to their Clan Lord, she was from a distant branch line. And yes, her gift was _very_ different from Tomoe's. Her gift was violent and as difficult to control, and it reflected in her temper. Her elemental gift was only truly useful when there was a violent storm for her to shape. She struggled with the basic control of air and winds, and so her energy had been turned to meditation and learning control. She enjoyed fighting and learning the sword, because she couldn't depend on her gift the way others could. She could flatten a village or strip a place bare of vegetation, but she couldn't use the air as a living shield. She had been pulled into the war program on her power alone but she had excelled at tactics and resource management.

It was these differences and her personal belief that had gotten her into this. Still, knowing all this… Kaoru didn't know what _she_ felt. Resentment had been her first emotion. The clan had assured her that her father would be well cared for in her absence, but she was his _only_ close family. _Anger_ because she was being forced to pick up the pieces for a woman who had known better. Frustration because she _hated_ the cold and dreaded the frozen winters that loamed ahead of her like an endless prison.

But a month of sleepless nights and a raging temper had left her too drained to be anything but resigned. For most of her adult life, she had struggled to find a way to be useful and strong for the clan. Now that she had that chance… well, she was beginning to understand that the ways she had wanted to be useful would never happen now. This was her path and she was going to have to tread along it.

The sound of the door opening told her time was up.

When she had first arrived at the mountain keep, she had noticed that all the men and women had red and gold colorings. Shogo's hair had been dark unless in direct sunshine – then you realize that the color was actually a deep, deep red. Red, gold, straw-berry blond and a few heads of the strange cherry-tinted darkness had been everywhere she had looked. Their eyes ranged between curiously blue to near-violet to a pale, near-white. All shades of flame and heat.

The man who stepped into the room had coloring that was no different. His hair was a rather intense combination of scarlet and gold, and his eyes were a bright indigo-violet that had small sparks of gold embers around the pupils. For a moment she was struck by how bright he was and her sudden curiosity was broken up by the entrance of a servant who proceeded to set out several trays of food and drink.

When he continued to study her after the servant had left, she worked not to fidget.

"Welcome to my home." He said finally. "I am Kenshin."

Kaoru wondered if he was deliberately baiting her. The even tones of his words gave nothing away and his features were perfectly blank. But Kenshin was the name of the man Tomoe had married and the heir to the title of Lord. She gave the correct curtsey now that he had spoke and used her minor talent to call the scroll she had been sent with to settle on the table at his elbow.

"Thank you. The Clan sends its greetings."

Two could play this game of perfect politeness, after all.

"Please," he said finally dropping his eyes from her face as his fingers closing around the scroll. "Sit. Eat. The tea should still be warm."

Kaoru nodded her thanks, before seating herself as he moved to the fire to examine the scroll she had delivered. She wanted to watch him, study that strangely beautiful face that hit her so unexpectedly in the gut. But she needed to concentrate to keep from rattling her ridiculously delicate tea cup on its equally delicate saucer – what she wanted was a thick mug that she could cradle between her fingers. Finally just giving up, she bit into a sandwich and watched him from the corner of her eye.

She knew the scroll was mostly about her personal information, warning him about the violence of her gift should she lose control. She didn't blame the clan for passing along that information. She wasn't certain how she would have brought it up – mentioning that she could bury the mountain side under a blizzard if she was angry enough didn't seem like a casual conversation starter. Thankfully, she couldn't create storms. All she could do was manipulate what she was already given.

Finally he turned away from the fire and sat down across from her, settling in the chair easily as he rolled the scroll between his fingers easily and vanished it somewhere. Those too bright eyes settled on her features, watching her with that nerve-wracking intensity she was determined would not get the best of her.

"Your Clan Lord has expressed concern that you should know the fate of your cousin."

Kaoru tucked her brows together in confusion. She hadn't really been all that interested in Tomoe's fate. She wasn't going to sleep with someone other than her husband – assuming she shared his bed – so she wasn't really concerned with her fate. Swallowing, she supposed she _should_ be concerned, so she finally nodded.

"Akira and Tomoe Kiyosato were stripped of their elemental gifts and banished. One of the River clans agreed to accept them on behalf of Kiyosato's old family bonds."

Kaoru kept her expression carefully neutral. In the end, she supposed that was merciful of them. It wasn't just her Clans treaty that they had jeopardized, after all. And the marriage bonds she had broken were sacred to both clans. That he had let them live at all told her something about this man – she wondered what he would have done if Tomoe had gone to him before their wedding and expressed her concerns. Or if she had and they had been brushed off.

When she continued to maintain her silence, Kenshin continued. "Originally, our alliance had allowed for you to marry the man of your choice. I apologize that we are no longer in a position to make such allowances."

Kaoru felt ice run down her spine. By giving Tomoe her choice, they had made it clear that they expected the marriage to last. Choice meant that the magic used should have been _binding_. That she had broken those bonds to run to a man she _could have_ married in the first place and saved everyone this embarrassment and hurt… that he had spared their lives at all was beyond merciful. Something inside her hurt for this stranger who had the fidelity of his marriage bond broken; had that piece of his heart and soul shattered by a woman who never _had_ to marry him.

Licking dry lips, she held that bright, bright gaze. "By all laws, you could have put Tomoe and this Kiyosato to death."

He didn't seem surprised that she had put the dots together so quickly but there was something curious about the way he angled his head. Butterflies licked along the line of her stomach and she worked to remain neutral. What was it about this man?

"The failure of a marriage cannot be blamed on a single party – regardless of their actions."

So he had taken part of the responsibility. That would explain why they were willing to accept another bride. Kaoru suddenly felt exhausted. The weight of the alliance was on her shoulders and it looked like she would be marrying a man who had watched his Lord's Heir banish his wife and her lover; she'd known she would be watched with suspicion but she hadn't imagined it would be this difficult.

Well, bone weary or not, she was here for a purpose. Bracing herself mentally, she laced her fingers together and spoke. "If you are not in a position to make the same allowances for me that you felt necessary for Tomoe, I assume you have decided on my husband?"

Something flickered over the edges of his mouth and Kaoru was a bit surprised to see the sudden way his shoulders _relaxed_. It was as if her directness had been what he was waiting on. Certain that her sudden surprised uncertainty was showing on her face she arched a brow and waited.

"Tomoe was my wife."

Kaoru nodded. She wasn't certain there was anything she could _say_ to that.

"The mistakes that were made with her care will not be repeated." Violet-edged into gold and she blinked once in surprise. A physical sign of his power? How strong was this man? "I will do everything in my power to see to your comfort and happiness, Kaoru Kamiya, but in return I ask that you be willing to talk to me."

Kaoru froze. Wait. What? Surely… Carefully, she chose her words. "Are you… perhaps I am mistaken, but are you saying that you wish to take a _second_ wife?"

Kenshin leaned forward and curled his warm hands around her white-knuckled, chilled fingers. Something flickered across his face and there was a sudden surge of warmth in the room that she felt even through her boots. Her breath caught.

"What was between Tomoe and me…" for a moment, his lashes hid his eyes and when Kenshin met her gaze again, the violet was gone. Brilliant gold twisted through a darker bronze and Kaoru wondered if the warmth in the room was all him. "I took my oaths seriously. I will take the ones given to you as seriously. The way the oaths were broken has insured there is nothing to _replace_. I cannot ask someone else in the clan to do what I have already failed once."

Kaoru slowly shook her head. "Failure is a harsh word when two people are involved."

Kenshin shrugged but his thumb danced across her knuckles for a second before settling. "Perhaps. But this alliance is important for our people and I will not waste the opportunity learn from my mistakes. I would take you as my wife, if you will have me."

She wondered what he would say if she said no. But even as the question built in her mind, she rejected it. She supposed Tomoe had reasons for running – she couldn't begin to understand them, But it would be unfair to judge this man on actions she knew nothing of. What she did know was that he was sitting in front of her and offering a sort of brutal honesty she hadn't expected. That he had turned his request into a question gave her another little piece of understanding of his honor. She thought, with time, she could grow to like this man.

At the very least, it was appearing that she could respect him and much could be built on respect if they let it. Taking a deep breath, she slowly nodded her agreement. "Yes. That will… Yes."

He stood and she let herself be pulled to her feet as well. To her surprise he didn't let go of her hands, but studied her from beneath his lashes for several long moments. "The ceremony is to be this evening. I will have a bath pulled for her so that you may wash away the road… if you need anything else, please just ask."

"Thank you."

Finally he let her hands slip from his. The quick, sketch of a bow spoke of familiarity instead of cold politeness and she watched him leave as the knot in her chest finally started to ease. She didn't know how this was going to work but for the first time she thought that it might. Kenshin.

A faint, please smile tugged at her lips when she realized the room was still overly warm.

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